Finding the Real You
by gingertard
Summary: Rachel is going through her Junior year. Suddenly, she gets a late night visitor from none other than Santana Lopez. As they grow close together, two certain blondes are getting a bit bitter at the lack of attention they're receiving. Brittney is just worried about Santana falling for Rachel, and Quinn is worried about her own emotions towards the short brunette. Faberry
1. Chapter 1: The Late Night Visitor

A/N: So this is my first Glee fic. I had such a mental block with the other fic I'm working on so I needed a distraction. Enjoy :)

Rachel glanced at the clock. It read "9:00" and it was morning. It was fucking morning and Santana was already wallowing in her self-pity mixed with alcohol. Rachel sighed quietly until a piercing shot of pain pounded in her head. It almost made her whimper, but she got out of bed and went into the bathroom to retrieve some Tylenol. She felt a little better after a while, but her stomach still felt queasy. Santana was on the sofa drinking the Chardonnay from her fathers liquor cabinet. Rachel shook her head in shame and started to pick up the bottles all over the floor. She tried to remember what occurred last night.

XXX

After hearing banging on the door downstairs, Rachel quickly put on her robe while banging and slurs rang outside. She stood behind the door, recognizing the banshee as none other than Santana Lopez.

"Berry, just open your fucking door!" Santana yelled, though most of it was slurred. Rachel looked through the peep-hole, still not believing that Santana, one of her tormentors, was at her door.

"Santana, though it is not any of my business of how you obtained that alcohol, it is my duty as a caring friend to ask you why you're consuming alcohol." Rachel said, opening the door for Santana. Santana burst through anyways, squeezing the door against Rachel accidentally. Rachel quirked her eyebrow and closed the door behind her drunk friend. Santana scanned the room and plopped onto the black leather couch.

"Jeez, Berry." Santana huffed as she struggled to get comfortable. "Could you pick a worse choice of furniture?" Rachel sighed and sat in the arm chair across from Santana who was merrily humming an old song.

"Santana, not that I'm absolutely irritated that you show up at my door at midnight, but need I remind you that I have a strict schedule. What with waking up at six, climbing onto my elliptical until six thirty, then jogging-"

"God, Treasure Trail! Do you ever quit bitchin'?" Santana growled at Rachel who instantly snapped her mouth shut. "Thank you. Now I know it's kind of shitty to just pop up at your house, but I had no where else to go."

Rachel looked Santana over and the ends of her lips drooped. "Why couldn't you go over to Brittney's?"

She saw a flash of pain on Santana's face and instantly felt guilt wallow up inside her stomach. She didn't know what to say, so she kept her gaze to her hands, twiddling them in her lap. She kept giving Santana fleeting looks of pity as Santana struggled to keep tears from overflowing.

"T-that's the problem. Brittany doesn't want me anymore." Santana said, her voice cracking. Then she glared at the coffee table, which Rachel thought would burst into flames. Rachel stood up and sat down beside the Latina's feet and flashed a pained smile. Santana arched her eyebrow as to say, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to engage you in conversation about your...relationship with Brittany, but it seems like you might set my furniture on fire if we talked about it anymore." Rachel looked around, feeling out of place in her own home. She didn't know what would cheer the cheerleader up, as ironic as that sounds.

"Listen, Man-Hands. I didn't come here for your pity. I came here because...well, I already fucking told you! I didn't have anywhere else to go! Brittany and I are fighting. Puck would only try to fuck me. Quinn wouldn't take my side because I'm being irrational. I only have you left!" She spat out in a blur of words. "I only have you to turn to. I only have you..." And then the floodgates opened. Rachel held the weeping mess that is Santana in her arms and quietly shushed her with a "It's going to be okay".

"Santana Maria Lopez, it is okay to cry. It's human. Biologically speaking, it's actually very helpful in relieving stress. Plus, it's good for you pores, and certainly the extra water it provides for your eyes-"

Santana just shook her head and tried to smirk, but it failed and ended up looking like a clown hooker's smile. "God, you really are a freaking book." Rachel beamed at herself, feeling a bit proud that she was able to cheer up Santana quickly.

They sat there for a while, Santana laying in Rachel's lap, and Rachel mindlessly stroking the taller brunette's hair. Rachel glanced down at Santana just as soon as a devilish smile appeared on the girl's face. "Hey Berry...I've got an idea that we can do." Rachel simply stiffened. The smile she saw was one she had never succeeded in forgetting. It was the smile Santana would wear whenever Rachel got slushied. "What's wrong?" Santana asked and Rachel slightly jumped, forgetting Santana was there.

"Oh nothing. Just lost in my thoughts as usual." Rachel laughed to ease the tension. "What did you have in mind?"


	2. Chapter 2: Santana's Idea of Fun

**Chapter 2: Santana's idea of fun**

**Disclaimer: Don't own glee. If I did, Rachel and Quinn would have been together from the start.**

"Oh come on. I've never seen you look this terrified. Just trust me." Santana laughed and walked downstairs, remembering the house layout from last year's party. "Okay, now where's the light?" Santana felt her way through the darkness.

Rachel shook her head, and flipped the light switch, startling the taller brunette. Santana merely huffed in annoyance and then opened the small cabinet doors by the small stage. She ransacked through the liquor, taking swigs of whatever. Rachel just quietly sighed and sat on the itty bitty stage.

Santana frowned a little, wondering why the diva was in such poor spirits. She sat down the bottles and pulled the smaller girl up to her feet. "Care to dance, Berr-" she sighed, her habit hard to overcome. "Rachel."

Rachel inaudible gasped, but her face was absolutely shocked. In all of her life, Santana had not called her by her first name once. Santana only smirked in response and went over to the small radio and popped in a disc, turning it to a well-known song, one that Rachel should know. Santana laced her right arm around Rachel's back and held Rachel's hand in her hand, pressing their bodies together.

"If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea..I'll sail the world to find you." Santana sang, a bit high pitched Rachel noted. However, she didn't have all the years of training as Rachel had, so she was good enough.

"And if you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see, I'll be the light to guide you." Rachel sang back as Santana twirled her around. They both were giggling as they danced to the song. "You know what, Santana? I haven't been this happy in ages." Rachel laid her head on the cheerleader's chest near her shoulder and gave out a contented sigh.

Santana noticed and felt a little bit of pity for the girl. "Well, how come?"

Rachel shrugged. "I guess I just...just, I don't know really. I just haven't really felt like myself I suppose. I feel like I'm holding back all of myself and I know it's unhealthy of course, but that's my only option. My fathers have me on medication for depression, but I think that just makes me feel worse." She revealed and Santana knit her eyebrows in confusion. "But...what? You depressed? Never thought I'd see the star burnout. Let's get some alcohol in you." Santana suddenly said and went into the liquor cabinet once again, and retrieved two small bottles of vodka.

Rachel shook her head. "Alcohol is a depressant drug, so it would just make me feel worse. Plus, I'm underaged."

Santana rolled her eyes and saw Rachel's lips quirk into a smile, but in a flash, it was gone. The cheerleader shoved a bottle in the girl's hand and opened her own. "It's not going to kill you."

Rachel scoffed. "I beg to differ. Alcohol is one of the main causes of death of the pubescent youth and-" She was cut short because Santana poured some of her own drink into her mouth. Rachel sputtered and cough, but the liquid already travelled down her throat. "Santana Maria Lopez! Do you know how dangerous that was?" She yelled.

Santana only smirked. "There's the Berry I know. Drink up. It'll make you feel better."

The songstress respired. "Fine. I will fall under peer pressure, but only this once." She gingerly sipped at her drink while Santana chugged. The taller of the two laid onto the couch and smiled in bliss. "Ah, much better!" Rachel grinned at her and sat beside her. Santana laid her head on the diva's lap. Later on into the night, Rachel was thanking her lucky stars, mainly herself, for it being a Saturday night, well, early Sunday morning because they both would be in no shape to go to school.

"Sanny!" Rachel giggled drunkenly. "It's so nice to see you!"

She can't handle her alcohol, Santana mused to herself. Santana stared at the girl who only consumed half a bottle, and sat her drink down. "Now I would suggest we play strip poker, but I just want to maybe watch a movie and sleep." She said earnestly. She was exhausted from fighting Brittany and Rachel was tiring her out even more. However, whenever she saw Rachel's pout, it tore her soul apart. "Okay, how about we watch your favorite movie with that one lady, uh Stresshand is it?"

Rachel shot up in glee, but then looked at Santana with a disapproving glance. "Its Streisand. Barbara Streisand. And the movie is Funny Girl." She shot over to the small flat screen and put in her all-time favorite movie. She cuddled up with Santana, shockingly. Well at least to Santana because the diva wrapped her arms around Santana's body. Well I didn't expect her to be the big spoon, she pondered thoughtfully. Rachel heard Santana mumble something, but seeing as she was unable to decipher it, she decided to go ahead and sleep.

Soon they were fast asleep.

XXX

That's all Rachel could remember anyways. She smiled at the other girl who was looking to be in better spirits and sprawled out onto the sofa, yawning softly. Santana heard it and smiled a little. It reminded her of Brittany's cat Lord Tubbington. More importantly, it reminded her of Brittany. Rachel stood up and started to clean up the mess. "I do hope you restock my Daddy's cabinet. He'll assume that I had people over once again."

"Again? And why wouldn't he suspect you drank it?" Santana countered.

Rachel shrugged. "They trust me to be a respectful, and more importantly, a responsible young adult. Plus, I don't like alcohol. The taste is too rough for my lungs and I need my pipes, obviously. As for the "again", remember the party I threw for all the glee clubbers? You guys ransacked the liquor cabinet." Santana saw a smile threatening to break through Rachel's mouth.

"I just assumed you had a crazy party." Santana laughed.

Rachel shook her head. "The only time I've ever had people over was that party."

"The only time?"

"Yes, why?"

"I...don't know. Just wondering." Santana said after a while. She was starting to feel guilty about everything she had done to the petite Jewish girl. Is she actually caring about another person besides Brittany for once?

**A/N: So, I know it's going by painfully slow at first, but I promise that it'll starting picking up speed around the seventh chapter. They'll end up being longer too. Also, all mistakes are mine as I am un-beta'd. I noticed in my other fic that spelling wasn't a problem. It's just my words will hang off like "She felt that she to (when I mean to put had or something there)" and etc., so just look over it. Thanks for all the favourites, the review, and the follows :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Outing Myself (Rachel's POV)

**Rachel's POV:**

I had to pick up Santana's mess even though _she_ was the one who invited herself over. I can't lie and say that I didn't appreciate her company. In fact, I enjoyed her simple presence. It's not like at school. I just feel like I'm getting to know the real her, finally. But that's all going to end in just a few hours. She'll go back into her bitch mode and I'll get daily slushies. It's a simply fact of life. But they'll regret it. Once I hit it big in Broadway, they'll be screaming my name and wanting my autograph, but I won't give it to them.

Santana watched me clean, paying no attention to the blaring TV. "Can you please tune down that ruckus? I don't see why you have to have it on when you're not even watching it!" I said exasperated. Santana perked one of the corners of her mouth and gave me an toothy grin.

"It's background noise. I gots 'ta have it, Berry. It keeps me watching you from being awkward." She finished lamely with a shrug.

I raised my eyebrow, holding back my own smile. "Oh, so you like watching me?" I asked in my best seductive tone. I never thought I'd see the day that Santana Lopez blushed. By me. I might hold more power than I thought.

"T-that's not what I meant! I m-mean that, well, uh. Just shut it!" Santana's face was now a very bright cherry red which made me giggle. That only led to her blushing even more. I felt an unknown pride once again. We were flirting. Or at least I saw it that way. A little cute back and forth. I sat down beside Santana and beamed at her. She couldn't help but smile back. My fathers were right when they said that the "Berry" charm really does charm everyone. Santana's huffing pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Well, it's about time I left. I want to at least try to get some sleep before having to suffer through Sue's wrath since we shoved that one geek into the janitor's closet." Santana finally said whenever the coo-coo clock clucked 11 times, signaling that it was eleven o'clock at night. I pouted, not wanting our fun to end. But I knew it had to. She saw my sad face and leaned up, pulling me close to her.

"Thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it. I...you're a good person, you got that, _Berry_?" She said, empathizing my last name so it seemed like an insult. I just smiled and hugged her tightly. I didn't realize I was crying until Santana was wiping them away.

"What's wrong, Rachel?" She asked softly, treating me like I was some fragile broken object. I was, but she coulda' told me to man up since I had man hands.

"Nothing, I just-I just really wanted this to last. This friendship. I don't want to go back to being the Queen of Freaks! For fuck's sake, this is the first time that I felt I mattered, and I only thought I'd matter whenever I dream about Quinn loving me back! But you just had to show up and made me break." I sobbed, everything coming out like word vomit. Santana blinked slowly, shell-shocked. I didn't think I'd ever stop Santana from breathing, but here we are.

"What was that about Quinn?" She choked out after a painstakingly long silence.

I put my hand to my mouth and cried harder now that my most darkest secret, or what I consider my darkest secret would be. I love Quinn Fabray.

I looked at Santana and my head hung in shame. "It's true, all right! I love her! I've loved her ever since she moved here in eighth grade. I only pretended I wanted Finn last year because I wanted to get him away from her. I knew Puck was doing things with her, but I didn't think that he'd knock her up! I'm pissed that Shelby adopted Beth, not only because she already has a daughter, but because she fucking reminds me of Quinn!"

She kept quiet for a good five minutes. "I honestly don't know what to say."

I guess I've kept my emotions bottled for too long because now I'm starting to burst like a volcano. "You know what's the sickest and worse thing about it? I still love her after all she's done to me. I've offered her friendship time and time again, and I feel like I can't go on with it. I'm not talking about suicide, I'm not that crazy, but I feel like I'm fading." I tried to put my feelings into words, but I don't think it worked.

"Rachel, I-I never knew. I'm sorry." Santana said earnestly.

"It's not okay, but it's alright. It doesn't matter anyway. You better not say a goddamn thing!" I yelled at her, my anger reaching my eyes. She nodded with a fearful gleam in her eyes. I sighed and sat back, looking at her. "I'm sorry for exploding at you. I never meant to say any of this."

"It's okay. I get it. How about a secret for a secret, eh? I love Brittany. As in I would love to spend my life with her. But I can't come out, not till I move away." Santana admitted. I only nodded along since I knew she had a thing for Brittany. They were practically joined at the hip. "Well, I should get going." She said, and she rose, walking over to the door. "Your secret's safe with me, and I'll give you the alcohol on Tuesday after Cheerio Practice, okay?"

I smiled slightly. "Sounds like a plan. Dad and Daddy won't be back until next week anyways. It was nice having you over."

"Don't mention. Seriously, I don't want to look like a wuss." She said.

"Don't forget to make amends with your girl." I countered, an arched eyebrow at the ready. She only shook her head and smirked.

"I'm rubbing off on you, Berry. Just to let you know, I'll be making jokes about you and Tubbers." She walked off to her car and I just leaned against the doorway, watching her.

"Expect the unexpected, Berry." I murmured to myself and closed the door a few minutes later.

**A/N: Thanks for the follows, favourites, and everything else! As I said, it is going to be quite slow. I typed this up during church, so as for scheduling, you can always expect a chapter each Sunday. As to the Guest review about the name spelling of "Brittany", I went back and corrected it, so don't have a fuss :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Returning to Hell

Chapter 4: Returning to Hell

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all so much for following and favouriting my story. I'm sorry that I haven't updated much. I was preparing myself for the Nano WriMo novel contest. I've got to work out some minor kinks in that plot. Anyways, again, thank you guys a lot. I know it's going really slow, but it'll pick up momentum. This chapter will be longer in order to make it up for my missed due dates.**

Rachel's POV: After Santana drove off, I glanced around at the room. Everything was in place except the alcohol. Thank God that my dads' weren't coming home until next week. I doubt that they'd be angry, just disappointed. However, in my opinion, that's worse. They'd be glad that I did it safely in my own home, but I'm still under-aged. My eyes scanned all of the rooms and I smiled that Santana and I didn't make as _big_ as a mess as we had originally thought. I slouched in a comfy brown leather recliner and felt the corners of my mouth perk up.

I shouldn't be that surprised that hanging with a friend would cheer me up. I gasped audibly and touched my hand to my lips. _Is she my friend?_ I pondered. We've certainly bonded over the weekend. I suppose I'll see tomorrow. I think it's pretty likely that I'll get slushied. For being a glee club member. Maybe it's just me? I know I'm not as pretty as the other girls. I've got too big of a nose. The only thing about me that's flawless is my voice, but it's been trained to be like that. I just want to feel pretty for once. Finn made me feel like a few times, but it was rare.

I walked up to my bedroom door. It was white and was bare, save for a star with my name on it. My eyes swept the room, jumping from Broadway posters to my mirror. I stood in front of it with a shaky breath.

My lips are too small. My arms look pale. My eyes are too dull. No wonder why Quinn wouldn't find me as a suitable partner. My cheeks are too chubby. I sighed quietly and sat down on my pink comforter, staring at the mirror. I wonder why I can't find myself beautiful, yet I am bursting with talent. Am I too cocky? Do I mistake myself for just average? No. I am Rachel Barbra Berry and I will be on Broadway. Nothing will stop me. I set my alarm for six, keeping on track of my morning routine. I fall asleep, my mind determined.

XXX

Quinn's POV:

I woke up to the sound of my alarm, effectively causing my irritation towards whoever made the damn thing. I shot out of bed and raced to the shower. I had forgotten about Coach's _extra_ early morning run for Cheerios. I rushed to put on my Cheerios uniform when a loud ringing stopped me from putting my other arm through the hole. "What do you want?" I demanded. I hadn't even check the caller ID.

"God, Q. Who shat in your wheaties?" Santana barked back with a light undertone of teasing.

I huffed. "Tell Sue that I'm going to be late."

"Oh, I didn't send you that text?" I could hear the smirk in her voice. "Sylvester canceled practice for today."

I squared my jaw. "I rushed for nothing, you-you, ugh!" I glared at my innocent dog Pepper. I breathed deeply. "What's the reason you called?"

"Oh nothing. Me and Britt-Britt wanted to know if you wanted something from the Lima Bean." She chimed, as if I wasn't in a sour mood.

"Do you even need to ask that? Get me the usual. Meet you at school." And with those words, I ended the call. I took my time getting dressed and made sure that I looked like the hottest thing alive. I had been working for months to get the baby weight off me and I finally got my trademark abs back. I swear that someone could cut diamonds on my flawless jawline. Almost everything about me was perfect. Almost. I descended the stairs and glanced at my mother who was passed out on the couch. _Huh. Another late night of doing taxes?_ I thought to myself and quirked an eyebrow. I walked outside, locked the door behind me, and then climbed into my car. I stopped at a red light and took a glimpse at my surroundings. I could see Santana's car parked at the Lima Bean. Puck's truck was in the parking lot right beside the hardware store. For the most part, I didn't see anyone else I knew. The light turned green and I continued down the road, pulling into McKinley. I could see Rachel getting out of her father's car and walked into the school with a huge grin on her face. "Odd." I muttered to myself.

When I walked into the school, I felt two presences on my left and right; then, a venti-sized Cappuccino with extra cream was shoved into my hand. I put on my HBIC smirk. "Thanks, S."

"No problem, Q." She replied.

"Hey Quinnie!" Brittany exclaimed.

"Hey B." I smiled at her child-like excitement. We walked in a pleasant quietness all the way to our lockers. However, _Berry_ had to ruin it.

"H-hey. I was wondering if I could speak to Santana for a moment." She asked Brittany who just smiled and nodded. How dare Rachel not notice me?

"Sorry, RuPaul. We're kind of busy. So take your hairy ass down the hall and climb under your bridge, Troll." I sneered. I instantly felt a wave of guilt whenever her face became crest-fallen. I just stood there and stared at her, but she couldn't seem to lift her head.

"Quinn, back off. She didn't do anything to you. Cool it." Santana spoke up finally, after a painfully long moment of silence. By its own nature, my eyebrow shot up in question. Santana faced me and stared at me. I understood that she didn't want to talk right now, but I stood my ground.

"Whatever...Rachel," I spoke slowly, as if I was a child learning how to speak, "has to say, she can say it in front of me."

"Actually, I really can't. It's of a personal nature." Rachel said simply. She was no longer embarrassed. She stared at me in a defiant sort of way. It honestly terrified me. Brittany ends up tugging me away from Santana and Rachel. They disappeared around the corner and I pulled my arm back from Brittney's grasp.

"Why'd you do that?" I growled.

"Rachie wanted to talk to Sanny about something secret. Secrets are important. Lord Tubbington keeps a secret of mine. I keep his secret." She leaned into my ear. "He's still a smoker."

I stared at the bubbly blonde, confused for the umpteenth time about how she was able to get into high school.

"Okay...Well, we should get going to class." I mumbled and as we walk, I look over my shoulder and see Rachel come around the corner with Santana, the Latina's eye makeup smeared. I felt a strange curiosity and anger overtake me, but not about Santana. About Rachel. I continued to class, but the fluttering in my stomach didn't do anything to calm the storm in my mind.

XXX

Rachel's POV:

"So you haven't told her my secret?" I ask in disbelief. I would've thought that Santana would have spread the news that "Stubbles has a thing for Quinnie". I couldn't let the possible idea of her not telling anyone catch me off guard, but here I am.

"Of course not. I'm not as cold-hearted as I seem." Santana scoffed, her arms folded in a defensive posture. She actually seemed offended.

"Look, I didn't mean it that way. I just figured that you would have since our past has not always been, well, pleasant." I mentioned quietly.

Santana's lips faltered as she tried to find words. A great sadness grew in her eyes. "Rachel, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I regret everything I have ever done and you will now be on 'The List' so you can be protected, but I don't know what else to do. I feel like I keep failing you." She rushed out. She wasn't finished either. "If it wasn't for that slushy I threw at you Freshman year, then you wouldn't have to go through this torture. Hell, maybe even Quinn wouldn't notice you. You'd be happier." She kept her eyes trained on my shoes.

I frowned at her rant. "I'm glad Quinn notices me. Even though I'm no where near worthy enough for her, she still notices me. That's better than blending into the background. As for everything else, it's not okay, and I will always remember it, but you are forgiven."

Santana's head shoots up and she looks at me with her jaw dropped to the floor. "What do you mean 'I forgive you'? I have fucking tortured you! I was the one who Tranny in chalk on your windshield!"

"And I forgive you for that." I reply, but Santana kept growing more and more upset.

"You can't just forgive _that_!" She exclaimed as hot tears raced down her face. I boldly moved to encase my arms around her. "You can't...Rae. You just can't. It's not right." She sniffled.

"Yes I can. It's my choice. You made mistakes." At that notion, Santana's legs gave way to the floor and I used all my strength to keep her up. "It's okay, Santi. It is." It momentarily shocked me how much can happen in under five minutes. I walked her out of the girls' bathroom as the bell for first period rang. I saw Quinn's eyes gaze at us briefly before walking away with Brittany. I washed Santana's face with some water from the water fountain, cursing myself for not doing it in the bathroom.

"Do you want me to walk you to class?" Santana spoke after I threw the wet napkin away.

"No, it's quite all right. You don't need to be tardy because of me, okay?" I smiled kindly. Santana shook her head.

"Please, Rae. Let me do this. I wanna start making it up to you. For everything I've done wrong." She begged in a tone of voice that I've rarely heard when she wanted something from Brittany.

I glanced at my watch and sighed. "Fine, but you're going to be late."

She took on her cocky grin. "Worth it. What class you've got?"

"AP Calculus." I spoke.

"So you're stuck with _Quinn_, huh?" Her smirk grew.

My face heated and I spoke softly. "Shush it."

"But it seems like Berry wants to pick some of Quinn's berries, eh?" I could practically feel my face melting. _Maybe I can fake a fever so I don't have to sit by Quinn again_, I thought to myself, but I pushed that away.

"Must you be so crude?" I sighed.

"I'm just teasing." She grinned and we stopped outside the opened door as students were still spilling into the classroom. "Here you are, Tiny."

I pouted. "I'm not that small!" Santana stuck her tongue out at me, ruffled my hair, and sprinted off before I had time to yell obscenities at her. "Damn you, Lopez!" I cursed lowly since there were teachers nearby.

I walked into the classroom holding my books in front of my stomach, a habit of mine that I recently discovered. There she was. She wore her Cheerios outfit, her golden, angelic locks in a ponytail, and her toned legs poke out from under the table. I bit my lip and took my seat next to her even though we never took each other as partners. Flashes of a daydream where Quinn and I were married took a hold of me and a lucid smile appeared on my face. Quinn was at the Gazebo and my fathers Hiriam and Leroy were walking me down the aisle. As soon as I stepped in front of Quinn, her mouth contorted into a frown. "Treasure Trail! What's wrong with you?"

I shook my head and discovered that I had fallen asleep. Drool was soaked into my sleeve and Quinn hadn't yet noticed. I didn't know what to do. I put my arm over my other and looked at Quinn. "I-I'm fine." The bell had rung and we had went over a lot of notes. This class was the only one that I was close to going down a letter grade.

She quirked that goddamned sexy eyebrow. "Really? It seems to me that you drooled all over your notes from yesterday, but you don't need them, _right_?"

I gasped and almost let out a cry. Almost. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" I rapidly spoke as I gathered all of my school supplies.

I glanced at her and she had a smirk firmly on her face. Uh oh.

"I'll be happy to give you my notes." Quinn smiled crookedly, almost like she was enjoying my struggle.

"Oh thank you!" I smiled, but then it fell as Quinn held up her hand and her eyes challenged me.

"If you tell me your secret."


	5. Chapter 5: Protecting Tiny

Chapter 5: Protecting Tiny

**A/N: Thanks for the review and more follows! I decided to type some more chapters here at school and then do a duo on Sunday. Hope you enjoy the story. (Bold: Brittany, **_Italicized: Santana, _**_Bold and Italicized: Both)_**

Rachel's POV:

"M-My secret?" I fumbled over my words as Quinn stood to her feet, grabbing her supplies as well for her next class.

"Mhm. Better hurry though. The offer will end in about ten seconds. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock." Her smile seemed almost feral to me. I thought it over and shook my head. I decided that getting a B in Calculus would be worth it rather than having to admit to Quinn about my feelings. Her mouth made a perfect 'O'.

"No thank you, Quinn. I should really get going now. I don't want to be late for Physics." I said, putting on my best and loveliest show smile. I turned to walk away, but she tugged me back.

"I will find out. Nothing stays quiet in this school for too long." Quinn threatens me and I briefly get shaken up.

"You can try as much as you want, but Santana wouldn't betray me like that. She's my friend." I murmured quietly since the next class was already coming in and I didn't want to make a scene. I left the classroom with a dumbfounded Quinn staring after me. As soon as I stepped out of the door, a tan arm hooks around my left arm, and a toned, pale arm around my right. I already know that it's Santana and Brittany as they are one of the few Cheerios that stay together throughout the day. "Hello Santana, Brittany." I greeted them pleasantly.

"Hey Tiny." Santana smiled and gestured to carry my books. I shook my head, but she grabbed them anyways.

"Santana Maria Lopez! I told you no!" I hissed. She smirked while Brittany gained my attention.

"So where is your beard?" She asked me, positively confused. What? Beard?

"My beard? What are you talking about?" I inquired.

"People are always calling you a dwarf! I looked it up and they are really short, which you are, and they have really long beards. I totes think that you'd look cute with one anyways." Brittany giggled and I just looked from Santana, who just shrugged, to Brittany who was beaming.

"I'm not actually a dwarf, Brittany. People call me that because I'm short and they like to be mean." I explained. Brittany merely frowned as we strolled down the school corridor.

"But...that's not nice." She looked at me with a pout and my smile was gone as well.

"It's not, but I cope." I give her a half-hearted smile and we arrive at my class. I looked at Santana confused. "How did you know I had Physics?"

"I overheard you telling Quinn that. By the way, don't worry about her. I'll straighten that out, okay?" She requested and my eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"Okay...Well, thank you for walking me to class, girls, but you both really don't have to do that." I replied. Santana shook her head as she linked pinkies with Brittany. _Hmm, they must have made up. I can't believe that I had forgotten, _I pondered to myself. Santana's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"I told you, Rae. I've got to make it up to you. You're now under the Cheerios protection." She proclaims and I sigh.

"You guys should get to class." I mutter.

"But Sanny! You said that you'd take me into the closet and give me sweet lady kisses." Brittany whined. I smirked and raised an eyebrow at Santana. She had the decency to blush, then she shushed her girl.

"B, what did I tell you about telling other people about our lady kisses?" Santana groaned. I snickered as Brittany mouth drooped into a pout for what seemed the one hundredth time today.

"But Rachie's our friend!" Brittany protested. Santana's lips faltered and she huffed.

"Fine. But don't talk so loud, okay?" Brittany nodded and held Santana in a vice grip. I smirked at Santana and I continued my way into my class. Half-way through the period, my stomach started feeling queasy. My head felt like it was burning. I looked through my bag for the familiar orange bottle, only to stop and remember that I left my anti-depressants at home. I waited for the class to end, but I kept looking around, and my hands trembled so much that I couldn't keep still. When the bell rung, I ran out of the room, leaving behind two confused looking Cheerios waiting outside the door. I rushed out to the parking lot and stopped suddenly when I saw the hood of my car spray-painted in red, saying "FREAK". I sighed and climbed into my car, the tires of my car squealing as I sped out of the parking lot. I drove home as fast as I could, nearly crashing into another car a red light. I can't remember the last time that I was this reckless.

I pulled into my driveway and rushed to the door, fumbling with my keys. I opened the door and searched for my pills in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. I finally found mine and I shakily shake out enough pills to make up from missing them this morning. I sit down on the toilet and practice my breathing exercises that my doctor prescribed to me. I check my watch and discover that a few hours have passed and school is almost over. I take a normal pace to my car, locking my door behind me, and I drive the speed limit to school. _If I don't make it to my last class on time, at least there's glee, _I thought to myself.

XXX

Santana's POV:

After Brittany and I spent time in the janitorial closet, we walked to Berry's classroom and waited outside. When the bell rung, I saw a blur of brown hair brush past me. I frowned and check the room for the familiar short girl, but my suspicions were correct in that she was the blob the ran out of the room. I considered going after her, but Brittany held me back.

"Rachel forgot something important. It wouldn't be useful to her if we went after her." Brittany convinces me and I nod regretfully, still wanting to go after her. "Do you want to do a song for glee today?" She asks. I mull it over and shrug.

"Do you want to?" I inquired.

"Kind of." Brittany murmured sheepishly and hid her face into my neck. I smiled at this.

"Hmm, okay. What song do you want to do?" I asked as I held her hand down the hall. No point in skipping another class if we can't walk Rachel to her class.

"Honey Honey by Abba!" She practically yelled and I looked around, trying to quell her excitement.

"Okay, Little B. Teach me the song at class." I smiled since she seemed so happy and also since we shared Spanish together this period.

Brittany taught me the words for the song and flickers of emotion appeared on my face, but she didn't notice. _She's singing this for me?_ I wondered. It made me almost jumped out of my seat. She always sings things for me, but not much in front of other people. I suppose that's my fault, though. I always to keep our relationship a secret, but I guess we'll need to come out sometime. Brittany grabbed my hand under the table and looked at me with a knowing smile. I fought to hide mine.

After the bell rung, we headed to fourth period. I said my goodbyes to Brittany and accidentally bumped into Quinn. She stood tall, almost making me cower, but to be honest, I'm not that intimidated by her anymore. "Hey, watch where you're going Tubbers." I huffed.

"Ah yes. Satan, I was wanting to talk to you." She smiled. I rolled my eyes. _How original._

"What do you want, Baby Bump?" I asked lowly, almost growling. She laughed and shoved my shoulder.

"Oh, like you don't know! What was Manhands talking to you about?" She dropped the friendly act and grew serious.

"None of your business. Why are you obsessed with the Midget anyways? You don't have a taste for Berry's berries do you?" I teased. Quinn squared her jaw and glared at me. Apparently I pushed a button. Interesting.

"Shut your goddamn mouth. If you ever accuse me of actually feeling _anything_ for that tranny, you'll wish that you would have watched your mouth closer." She insisted. I just shrugged in response.

"Then lay off it, Quinn. She just told me some stuff, and it wouldn't be cool if I talked about it. I'm not a cold ice bitch like you."

Quinn actually entertained me when she took offense to that. She swallowed and cleared her throat. "You know, I wouldn't be saying that your captain." I gaped at her just as Coach Sue appeared behind her.

"Is there a problem here? I don't want my _co-captains_ getting sent to Figgin's so soon." She barked. Quinn looked at her in shock.

"Co-captains?! You told me that I was captain!" Quinn whined.

Sue rolled her eyes. "Save your drama for the losers, Big Mama. Sandbags here did a great job leading my girls to Nationals last year whereas you were fraternizing your ladybits to Mohawk." Quinn was about to interrupt her when Sue held up her hand. "No more griping, Q. I'll make you both run laps until you both won't be able to run after Streisand ." And with that confusing end, the coach disappeared. Quinn turned her eyes back to me with a slight tilt of her head, puzzled just as much as I was. I looked around and the halls were cleared.

"Fuck. See what you've done? I'm late for the umpteenth time now." I sighed and easily brushed past Quinn.

"Watch your back, S. You don't want to make enemies at McKinley." Quinn warned and I shrugged.

"It won't matter. I have friends who watch my back for me." I laughed and I virtually pranced to class.

XXX

Quinn's POV:

I had just came in from spray painting Manhand's car and I was trying to get the paint out from under my nails when I ran into Satan herself. I didn't mean to, but it seemed like an opportune time that bit me in the ass. Santana just made one of the biggest mistakes by betraying me. Sure, I told the coach about her boob job last year in order to become captain, but why would she hold that grudge against me? I arrived to my AP Literature class and noticed that the dwarf didn't make it. I scanned the room again, and I still didn't spot her. I sat down in my chair and began to take notes.

"Late, Ms. Fabray?" Mrs. Tillford asked me. I shrugged and put on my charm.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I was running errands for Coach Sylvester." I lie. She seems to accept that as the truth since I don't see her mark me as tardy. I smirked at that notion and continue to write down the notes, but my mind was elsewhere. Why wasn't Stubbles here? Am I actually starting to obsess over her? No. She just needs to put in her place. I just don't like mutiny in _my_ school. Especially from Berry. Always trying to act like she's better than everyone. Better than me. I'll just order the team to drown her in slushies. Well, maybe next week since Coach doesn't want me getting into trouble in the _first_ week of school. I kept a smile on my face as the bell dismissed us from class. One more class and then glee. I was actually looking forward to it, but the troll would probably be there.

XXX

Rachel's POV:

I made it to school just as the bell rung for the end of school. I had forgotten to wash off the paint, but I figured that it didn't matter since it would be easily replaced with something worse. I grabbed my bag and strolled into school despite the mob that ran out of it. I entered the choir room as soon as Santana and Brittany did. Santana rushed over to me and hugged me tightly.

"Are you okay, Rae?" She asked into my ear.

"I'm fine. I had to go home to get my meds." I whispered back. She frowned and pulled back just enough to see my face.

"You know that you need to keep taking them everyday. You'll get sick if you just stop so suddenly." She sighs.

"It wasn't really much of a choice, okay? I forgot them." I fought back in irritation, and then I saw Santana's frown. "I'm sorry. Today was awful, what with me not getting my notes for Calculus, and the writing on my car, and just everything." I admitted.

Santana's arms pulled back and her hands gripped into fists. "What did the writing on your car say?" She asked sweetly, but she was shaking, and the gleeclubbers that were already in the room were starting to watch the scene taking place. Brittany walked over and grabbed Santana's arm.

"Sanny, you're scaring everyone." She whispered. Santana seemed to be temporarily subdued as she looked at her girlfriend.

"Am I scaring you?" She questioned in a sad voice.

"No, I'm just worried. We'll deal with this later, okay?" Brittany cooed and Santana nodded, her shoulders relaxing and she looked back at me.

"I'm going to protect you, Tiny. With everything I've got." She promised and then she took her place by Brittany in the chairs. I sat down in the middle of the front row since I never really had a place to sit. I saw Brittany whispering sweet nothings into Santana's ear. I smiled because really, they were a match made in heaven. I sat my bag down beside my chair as Quinn, Noah, and Finn spilled into the room, the only members that hadn't shown up yet. They took their place on the right of me, but not too close. I turned my attention to Mr. Schuester who was writing something on the whiteboard.

"Okay, guys. I know last year didn't pan out so well, but this year, we're going to take home the gold!" He smiles. "So for this week's assignment, we're doing duets. But no recent songs, like last year, or the year before. Early 2000's and back is the limit." I could hear some groaning, but I shrugged. Singing was an art, and it deserves to have different categories to make different aspects of beauty.

Mr. Schue's brought me out of my thoughts. "Okay, so to make it fair, you guys will be drawing a name out of a hat." Even more groaning ensued. He called us up to pick a piece of paper. "Alright, so Mike and Tina, Finn and Puck, Quinn and Kurt, Mercedes and Sam, Brittany and Artie, then finally Rachel and Santana!" I smiled at Santana and she walked over to me.

"Knew I'd get matched up with you." She spoke into my ear quietly and I blushed for some unknown reason.

"Couldn't ask for a better partner." I beamed at her until I caught Quinn staring at us in suspicion. I smiled at her as we all took our seats.

"Mr. Schue! Me and Santana want to sing a song." Brittany spoke up and Mr. Schuester gladly allowed it.

**Honey honey, how you thrill me, ah-hah, honey honey. Honey honey, nearly kill me, ah-hah, honey honey. **Brittany danced around Santana, smiling. **I'd heard about you before  
>I wanted to know some more, and now I know what they mean, you're a love machine!<strong>

_Oh, you make me dizzy_**, **Santana sang, flowing across the floor with Brittany, while I sat back in my seat, smiling at my friends.

**Honey honey, let me feel it, ah-hah, honey honey. Honey honey, don't conceal it, ah-hah, honey honey. The way that you kiss goodnight. **_(The way that you kiss me goodnight)_**The way that you hold me tight **_(The way that you're holding me tight)_ _**I feel like I wanna sing when you do your thing**_**.**

They sang for what seemed like forever, but in the best way. Everyone was smiling and singing, even Quinn was swaying and grinning. I made my way over to Tina and Mike who openly invited me to dance with them. It made me smile and dance the way I do whenever I see Quinn smile, which only made happier seeing that she's happy right now. The song ended and we all return to our seats. I glanced at Santana and Brittany who were beaming at me. Mr. Schue talked for a bit more and dismissed us. Santana walked me out to my car since she had to be heading to Cheerios practice soon anyways. She saw my car and the anger replaced her smile again. I tried to hide it by laying on the hood, but Santana's nickname held some truth. I really was tiny.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Santana started, clenching her jaw, and then tried to focus on me, "But, are you okay?"

"I'm alright, Santana. Go before Coach gets onto you, okay?" I smiled, trying to help Santana calm down, and she did, but not much. "Please?" I pleaded.

She finally nodded. "I'll find out who did this." She says vehemently. I sighed and nod, knowing that she wouldn't quit until she did. She ran off to the field as I climbed into my car. "Girls are fucking crazy." I murmured to myself as I drove home.

XXX

Santana's POV:

"Boobs Magoo! Get up here!" Coach Sue yelled at me through her megaphone. I raced up the bleachers and met her gaze. She put her megaphone down.

"Yes, Coach?" I asked.

"Is Barbra okay?" Sue asked with an unfamiliar kind tone of voice. Apparently she shocked me out of my stupor since she waved her hand in front of my face. "Tweedle-fake Boobs, do you copy?" She yells.

She's back and I look at her, forming my words slowly. "Y-yes, ma'am. Why do you want to know?" I ask, taking on a defensive tone. "I won't slushy her or hurt her. I'd rather quit than hurt her." I swear, and it's true. I wouldn't hurt her ever again.

Coach smirks. "Good. Needed to see that kind of fire in ya. Now that that's handled, I want you to tell Quinn to do twenty-five laps."

I openly gape at her. She's never treated someone that harshly. "But why?" I question her.

"I've got this place bugged, S. I'm like a modern-day Richard Nixon." She says _somewhat_ proudly. "I see things. Quinn decided to have a little paint job today on Midget's car." Coach finishes with a grimace on her face, angry and upset apparently. I nod and my own anger takes me over.

"Q!" Quinn looks at me with her hand over her eyes to block out the sun. "Twenty-five laps, go!" I yell. She scoffs and turns her gaze from me to Coach who only nods in favor of my order. Quinn gasps and glares at me, but takes off running anyways.

"Good work, Kim K." Sue smiles.

"Kim K.?" I ask.

"Yes, Kim Kardashian. She's fake. Like your boobs." She smirks. I roll my eyes, but I can tell she's not finished talking. "Since you're protecting Streisand now, I don't want you getting in trouble-"

"But Coach, if someone messes with her, then I gots to beat on them!" I protest.

"You didn't let me finish, Chatty Fake-Boobs. I don't want you getting in trouble, but I don't mind if you cause it don't get caught." She smiles and I grin. I glance at Quinn who's already finished with her second lap.

"I can do that." I smirk.


	6. Chapter 6: Quinn's Suspicions

Chapter 6: Quinn's Suspicions

**A/N: I'd like to clear up any confusion about the timing. It's Rachel's first week of her Junior year. A ****lot**** of shit happened to her this week, but I promise a filler chapter with overflowing fluff coming soon will make up for it. Enjoy. All mistakes are mine.**

As Rachel walked through her home's corridor, the walls shot up into the sky and the ceiling appeared to be growing lower and lower till Rachel had to crawl on the floor. She heard a strange noise coming from the door on her right. "What's going on in my room?" She asked aloud. The noise continued and Rachel gently cusp-ed the door handle, turning it ever so gently. A depiction of Quinn moaning in ecstasy appeared on her bedspread. Quinn's body glistened with beads of sweat sliding down her curvacious figure. She spotted Rachel at the door, her perfect lips were turned into an 'O'. Quinn laid her arm across the bed towards Rachel, and lifted her finger into the 'come hither' sign. Rachel's legs felt like jello, but she was so entranced by Quinn that she ran all the way to the bed. Quinn's mouth turned into a sexy closed smile, and her eyes, God, those eyes. Rachel could see a bit of mischievousness glowing in Quinn's breathtaking hazel eyes. "Qu-Quinn! What are you doing here? My dads will be back any minute!" Rachel spoke in harsh whispers.

Quinn bit her lip. "I know, but I just wanted to spend some time with you, Rach." Rachel looked momentarily confused.

"Rach?" Rachel asked in a tiny voice. "You've never called me that before."

"Mmm, well. It's my name for you, baby." She smirked. Rachel shook her head, but nevertheless, a smile grew. The moment their gaze met, her eyes smouldered, giving Rachel whiplash.

"Read my body like you read your bible verses." Rachel purred into her ear, leaving skin prickles along Quinn's body. She could see her desire so clearly etched into Quinn's beautiful marble face that she pondered what the source was. Quinn took Rachel's daze expression into her own hands and seized Rachel's lips with hers. With their foreheads pressed together, Rachel pulled back from Quinn's lips and exhaled. Quinn's eyes followed Rachel's tongue as it swept against her own lips. The action made Quinn shiver under Rachel. Quinn cried out at teeth gripping and nibbling her ear in a gentle motion. Rachel felt the moans pierce through her veins. "God, fuck!" Quinn mewled.

A waft of the musky sweat drifted towards Rachel making her tremble. Hips began to grind against one another, gradually gaining speed with the exceptions of a few moans. Rachel's cheeks and ear pinked slightly, but noticeable enough for Quinn to see. "Mm, someone's a little _flustered, _aren't they?" Quinn cooed. Rachel's flush grew into a bright red, eliciting a giggle from Quinn. "So you are!"

"Shut up and kiss me!" Rachel pouted. Quinn happily obliged, snaking her hand up Rachel's shirt. Rachel gasped at Quinn's cold touch, but it turned into a low hum. Quinn's thumb rolled over Rachel's pert nub, concentrating on evoking more sensual sounds from her lover. She watched Rachel's body squirm under her, though it was apparent that she was trying to hold back. Quinn's lips perked as she explored Rachel's chest, ghosting over her nipples. Rachel's hip rolled towards Quinn's, causing both girls' breath to hitch. Rachel mulled around in haze, pleasure seeping through her core. Quinn worked her hand downwards, pausing for permission from Rachel. Once she nodded her consent, Quinn hiked up Rachel's white ballerina-like skirt, slipping her hand under the folds of it easily. Quinn's hand roamed Rachel's thighs as she stretched to kiss Rachel. Rachel held Quinn's head in her hands and crushed their lips together. Her teeth scrapped against Quinn's bottom lip, raking it ever so lightly. Waves of emotion lain on Rachel's shoulders, caressing her smooth tan skin. Quinn's supple figure could be seen as a dancing shadow. Rachel's face twisted in confusion; it was daytime when she came into her room to see the naked goddess. It was now nighttime and the moonlight painted Rachel's room in a kaleidoscope of Quinn's face, making Rachel grin.

"Hey, Rae. Wake up." Santana's voice leaked into Rachel's head. Rachel grunted and swatted Santana away. "Oh my God, I will throw you onto the floor, Rachel!" Santana threatened. Rachel's doe-like eyes cracked open reluctantly.

"Goodness, did I fall asleep? I didn't take any notes!" Rachel whined, wiping away the drool that dribbled down the corner of her mouth.

Santana smiled and offered her notebook towards the shorter brunette. "I noticed that you fell asleep so I decided to take notes for you."

Rachel gave Santana a once-over and then flipped through the raven-haired beauty's notebook. "Hmm, these are adequate. Thank you, Santana." Rachel smiled and smoothed out her skirt, vaguely reminding her of her dream. A heat arose in Rachel's cheeks, raising Santana's suspicion. "I-I must be going now, but thank you. I shall return your notebook at glee."

"Keep it for as long as you want, Blueberry." She shrugged.

"So you're going to call me variations of fruit that end in 'Berry' now?" Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Uh-huh. Since I can't use insults towards you anymore, my arsenal has run dry." Santana admitted.

"You need to step up your game, Lopez. Only winners prosper." Rachel tsked and starting walking along Santana's side to her next class. Rachel had became accustomed to having an 'entourage' in the most loosely form of that word, she noted, and she felt vulnerable whenever her Cheerios weren't by her side. Mostly Santana, but she still missed Brittany even so. As soon as Rachel thought of Brittany, she spontaneously appeared beside Santana, pinkies linked. _They really are cute together_, Rachel thought. She giggled and it drew questioning looks from both Brittany and Santana. She shrugged and hugged both of them before heading into her Calculus. Her face crinkled in disgust. She had checked her grades as soon as she arrived home the day before, and she was still maintaining an A in the class, but she would probably fail the test that was coming up in a few days since she missed a whole section thanks to..._Quinn_.

Quinn came into the room shortly after Rachel had, and she saw the shorter girl lost in thought. She thought nothing of it and plopped down in her seat. The movement had brought Rachel back into the world and she hurriedly sat down beside her, smoothing her skirt. _She certainly does that a lot, _Quinn mused. Rachel caught Quinn's eye and gave herself a curious blush.

"So, I'm guessing you got the notes? Good thing too since we have a quiz over it today." Quinn spoke with a sickly sweet voice.

Rachel gaped at Quinn. "I thought we had the test Friday! I'm not prepared at all." Rest assured, Quinn achieved leading the diva into distress. She had her right where she wanted her.

"My offer still stands. You should take it while I'm still being generous." Quinn spoke with such an elegant and spiritless air that it almost appeared that she was bored. Rachel's face scrunched up, going back to her thoughts. Quinn wasn't so patient this time. "Berry, it's now or never." Rachel sighed and nodded for Quinn to hand over the notebook. "Ah, ah, ah! Secret first."

"I...well..." Rachel started and then her face flushed for a moment. "My dog Rex died, and- and Santana wanted to comfort me. So she came over one day and we bonded because her dog, um, her dog Jax recently passed away. As you know, I am a great lover of all creatures which is why I've chosen vegan as my palate, not necessarily a diet choice. But that's not the point, oh. That is why we have grown so close." Rachel smiled, a bit peculiar if Quinn had anything to say about it.

"I don't remember Santana ever talking about any _pet_ around me." Quinn countered. Rachel shifted the weight of her feet, avoiding eye contact with the cheer captain.

"Well, it's just something Santana wanted to repress." Rachel explained. "Now can I see your notes?"

Quinn sighed, knowing that that's all she would get out of the diva. "Fine. Don't ruin the pristine papers with your man hands."

Rachel looked from the obviously disheveled papers to Quinn. "Uh, right. Thank you." Rachel beamed at her; however, it didn't quite reach her eyes. Rachel flipped through the pages, copying them into her own notebook. Quinn watched Rachel out of the corner of her eye, entertained by the scene taking place. Rachel had gray smudges on the side of her hand, probably from erasing too much. Quinn took interest in Rachel's appearance. She wasn't wearing her normal argyle sweaters or kiddie skirts. Rachel had on a gorgeous sea foam green dress with cream-like ballerina flats. Her hair was dressed into a simple ponytail that had Quinn's head spinning. The change of scenery was intriguing Quinn, but she pondered, _What led her to change_? Quinn stole a glance at the clock. Twenty minutes had passed and Rachel was finished.

"Thank you again, Quinn." Rachel smiled and laid Quinn's notebook on her side of the table. Quinn smiled in response, slightly startling Rachel with the gesture, but nonetheless, Rachel's dimmer switch was tuned to the highest setting, her smile was positively radiant. Quinn felt a rush of heat to her cheeks, then turned to face the teacher. Rachel crossed that interaction off as embarrassment, and her smile fell, but a hint of it remained. Rachel studied her notes, writing out a few examples on her own. She needed to ace this test; she needed to have perfect scores. Rachel Berry accepted nothing shy of perfection. It stretched not only to classes, but her personal life. Cooking, cleaning, even walking her dog Rex who is still as able-bodied and vibrant as ever (though Quinn needn't know that).

Their teacher passed out the quizzes, and Rachel appeared in apparent stress. She could be heard muttering, "Oh my God, I haven't studied enough. What am I going to do?" Her pencil fell off her desk. "Shit." Rachel swore and picked up her pencil just as Quinn handed her the quiz.

"Calm down, Midget. You'll do fine." Quinn tried.

"No I won't. I'll end up failing Calculus, then I'll drop out of high school, end up living with my dads forever, and never make my dreams come true." Rachel whined.

She seemed to be a little unhinged in Quinn's opinion, so she tried to convince her again. "Did you write down and study my notes?" A nod. "You made your own examples too, right?" Another nod. "Then you should do fine."

Rachel hung her head as the teacher hushed them, writing her name on the quiz before her. Quinn finished early and laid her work on the teacher's stool. When she went back to her seat, she saw a small torn-off edge of a piece of paper. It depicted a small stick figure with a smile and long hair, saying "THANKS QUINN". Quinn looked at Rachel who seemed to be studying her shoes. Quinn smiled and put the note in her bag, thinking that Rachel wouldn't see anyway. The note had tugged at Quinn's heart. Rachel really was sweet. She shook her head of those thoughts and a grimace replaced her smile. Showing emotion is weakness and Quinn couldn't be weak.

The short brunette sneaked glimpses at Quinn, debating questions and concerns in her head, but to no avail did she speak. She turned away from Quinn just as the bell rang for next period. She gathered her items and left the room in a hurry. Quinn followed her, acting like Rachel's shadow in the hall. Rachel disappeared into the girls bathroom and Quinn debated whether or not to continue her chase. She spotted Santana with Brittany down the hall. _Maybe on their way to meet Rachel?_ Quinn pondered. She acted fast and ran into the bathroom, and sat down in a stall just as the future Broadway star was coming out of her stall.

A scattering of shoes followed suit after Santana and Brittany entered the bathroom. Rachel splashed her face with warm water, wiped it off with some paper towels, and then turned to face the two cheerios. "Quinn keeps antagonizing me with questions that I don't know how to answer." Rachel cried, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Quinn peeked through the crack of the stall door, watching the scene take place.

Santana placed her hands on Rachel's shoulders and lifted Rachel's chin up with a finger. "What'd she say, Tiny?" Santana asked.

"She kept asking me about us and I made up a lie about us bonding over our dead pets! I don't lie under pressure well!" Rachel exclaimed. Quinn raised her eyebrow, her face slowly morphing into stone. _She lied to me?_ Quinn thought and clenched her jaw. She lifted her legs when she saw Brittany looking over towards her stall. The bubbly blonde gazed over Quinn's silhouette for a moment's time and then focused her attention on Santana.

"You should have just told her that you had to help Lord Tubbington quit smoking, like you helped him last year even though he still smokes. I found a cigarette in one of his hairballs." Brittany smiled. All the other girls blinked, not uncommon in the presence of Brittany.

"I told you that he doesn't smoke Brittany." Rachel reasoned, though when she saw Brittany's face she continued, "He was, well, holding it for a friend."

Brittany's smile grew and she wiped her forehead. "Good! I was worried that he'd get cat cancer." She replied.

Rachel smiled in good gesture and Santana snapped her fingers in front of Rachel's face. "Hey, chica! We aren't finished. How are we gonna get Quinn to leave you alone?" Santana demanded.

Rachel's shoulders sagged. "I-I don't know. Brittany?" She questioned.

"Avoid her?" Brittany suggested and Rachel huffed in annoyance.

"I can't just do that. I share some classes with her and then there's glee of course. I certainly cannot spend anymore time staying home. Plus, Quinn would hold my Calculus grade over my head." Rachel whined. Quinn scoffed, then caught her breath and held it since her little sound drew attention. Brittany abstained from glancing at her stall, causing Quinn to be perplexed.

Santana's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not doing so hot in that class-" Rachel started.

"But how can that be? You study all the time!" Santana argued and Brittany nodded in agreement.

"You didn't let me finish." Rachel's jaw clenched in annoyance. "Though I do study, I maintain a ninety-four average in that class. That's the lowest A a person can obtain, and I wish to reach perfection."

Quinn was bemused. An A in Calculus was practically unheard of in this school and Rachel was actually complaining about hers? Sure, Quinn had an A as well, and it was higher than Rachel's but that's besides point. Rachel should be extremely proud. She was a studious young lady, talented, and an all around good person, but why couldn't she see that without Quinn coming out and saying that?

Santana rolled her eyes. "C'mon Berry. What's really got your goat?"

"Got my what?" Rachel asked in disbelief.

"Your goat. It's a saying." Santana huffed.

"I'm sure it is, but I assure you that nothing has 'got my goat'. I'm just having a hard time handling my priorities and my tedious extracurricular activities." Rachel replied. It wasn't exactly a lie either. She had been stressing over what duet she and Santana should do for glee. Plus, most of her teachers were advising her to start applying to colleges, but for some reason, Rachel avoided anything dealing with that of the sort.

Santana breathed and wrapped her arms around the shorter brunette. She felt Rachel tense, but she returned the hug nonetheless. "Tell me later. I need to get you to class." Rachel nodded, but Santana stopped in her place causing Rachel to crash into her shoulder. "Ah, fuck man! Why'd you do that?" Santana pouted, rubbing her shoulder.

Rachel put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me! You are the one who stopped in front of _me_! I believe an apology is in order."

Santana rolled her eyes and looked over to Brittany. "Aren't you coming, B?"

Brittany shook her head. "I'm going to stay here and use it now or I'll have to wait all night until Lord Tubbington is done."

Santana smiled and grabbed Rachel, pulling her out of the bathroom.

Brittany sighed and approached Quinn's stall, but it didn't seem like Quinn would leave with Brittany here. "What are you doing here, Quinn?"

"Brittany, it's rude to talk to someone while they're on the toilet." Quinn pointed out, deflecting her question easily. Or not so easily since Brittany scoffed.

"Yeah, that's why you were spying on Santana's conversation with Rachie." Brittany sneered, causing Quinn's eyes to widen. Brittany was usually never this passionate about people she barely knew. She'd pout, yeah, but this time it was different. Like she was defying Quinn.

"Okay, I'll admit that I was perhaps listening just a little." Quinn sighed, opening the stall door, and then leaned again the door frame. "Why did Rachel lie to me?" Quinn asked softly. She really was hurt a little. The diva had never lied to her before. What'd Quinn do to make her do that? She couldn't think of anything she's done to her recently. Maybe the car was a little extreme, but she was paying for it wasn't she? Coach had been giving her errands for most of the morning and decided to keep her away from Rachel every chance she had.

"She's not lying to you because you put that mean word on her car. She forgave you for that." Brittany replied, sensing Quinn's own self-doubt. She saw Quinn smile a little, then it was gone.

"Then why did she lie?" Quinn growled, frustrated that Rachel still lied to her. But, to be honest, she was relieved that Rachel didn't hold the spray paint over her head. Rachel was so much better than her. A better person in fact.

"She has secrets too. Why do you think you deserve to know?" Brittany countered.

"I-I, well, because she needed to use my notes and she didn't tell me what's going on with her and Santana!" Quinn griped.

Brittany frowned. "You can be so mean sometimes. This is why unicorns are scared of you, you goddamn repressed lemon."

Quinn's nose scrunched up in befuddlement. "What's a repressed lemon?"

"None of your business, just like Rachel's secret. Just drop it. As you just saw, Rachel was about to breakdown. Let her _friends_ keep her together, and you keep out of her business. Do you understand me, Fabray?" Santana said, approaching Quinn with her arms folded over her chest.

The two girls faced each other, nose to nose, both not stepping down. Brittany pulled Santana back from doing any damage. "San, why'd you come back? I told you I could handle myself." She whimpered out.

Santana smiled and placed a loving kiss on Brittany's temple. "I know you can, but I just had a weird feeling."

Quinn cleared her throat, unsure of how to react. Sure, she had known about Brittany and Santana's "sexual exploits", but she hadn't known that it had evolved into something so, so...mature. Santana turned to face her and raised an eyebrow. "What do you want? Better get to class. I got's to get my mack on." Brittany giggled from behind which elicited a grin from Santana.

"Okay, didn't need to know that. Anyways, I will find out, so watch your back." Quinn fixed her cheerleading top in the mirror and strolled out of the bathroom just as soon as she heard a stall door being slammed.

XXX

"So I was thinking that for our duet, we could sing _Call You Tonight _by Whitney Houston since your voice is really smooth and soft, and then I could do the bridge and perhaps a softer soprano pitch?" Kurt suggested to Quinn. She had to sit at the Gleeks table because she certainly wasn't going to hang around Kurt after school.

"Frankly, I don't care." Quinn stole glances over at Rachel who was sitting with Santana, going over various details with her partner. She turned her attention back to the pale boy. "Give me the lyrics before glee and then we'll practice during lunch tomorrow."

Kurt shook his head. "Won't do. Mercedes and me are going shopping tomorrow during lunch." He and Mercedes did a little hand shake, to which Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Okay, then how about our free period?" She tried.

Kurt clicked his teeth. "Hmm, I don't know." He caught Quinn's glare. "That's perfect timing." He smiled nervously and turned to drink out of his water bottle.

Santana was whispering something into Rachel's ear, making Quinn square and she started to stab at her salad.

"Jeez, blondie. What'd it ever do to you?" Puck asked, taking a seat to the right of Quinn.

She shrugged. "Nothing. Just trying to eat. Don't you know not to comment on what a girl eats, Puckerman?" She asked evenly.

Puck shrank back. Fabray looked pissed and he didn't want to mess with that. "Oh, well, I'm sorry." He murmured and smiled at Rachel, his Jewish princess. "What's up, my fellow hot jew?"

Rachel beamed and rolled her eyes at his mo-hawk antics. "I'm enjoying a pleasant lunch with the glee club, Noah. Thank you for asking. What is up with you?"

Puck looked around the room until he spotted the sexy vixen he met this morning. He pointed to her and Rachel followed his line of sight. "She is up. I'm going to try to score." Puck smirked.

Rachel shook her head, disappointed. "You can't beautiful ladies like that as things to be conquered."

Puck frowned. "Well, I didn't mean it like that. Sorry."

Rachel's smile lost its' shape, but it was still resting on her lips. "It's fine, Noah. But if you'd like to engage into intimate relations with that girl, treat her with more respect." She stood, gathering her trash. She left with Santana and the table was alive with talk of Puck's behavior.

"Jeez, man. You have a bad way of saying things." Finn laughed and Puck slugged him in the arm.

"Not cool, bro." Puck sighed and ran a hand through his mo-hawk. "I'll make it up to her." He stood and left soon after. Quinn sat alone, looking at her fellow teammates who were chatting to everyone else except...her.

XXX

Puck opened the door of the glee club and spotted Rachel and Santana by the piano. Santana stood in her normal guarded position, her arms folded across her chest. Rachel turned around in her spot on the piano. "What can I help you with, Noah?" Rachel smiled.

Puck walked over to Rachel and scooped her up into a hug. "I felt bad about what I said. I really didn't mean it that way." He spoke with remorse.

"Really, it's fine. It's not a big deal." Rachel reasoned.

"No, it is. It made you upset. So as an apology, I'm throwing a party in your honor tomorrow." He compromised.

Rachel smirked. "You were going to have a party anyways, weren't you?"

"Maybe I was, but you're going to come now, right?" Puck laughed.

Rachel shrugged. "Maybe I will, but I'm not going alone." She looked at Santana with a hopeful smile. Santana returned it and bumped her hip against Rachel's side.

"Fine, Tiny. I'll be your caretaker for one night." Santana shot Rachel a quick cocky grin and wrapped her arms around the petite girl. "Or you'll be mine. Baby needs her beer bottle." Santana smirked.

Rachel rolled her eyes as Puck high-fived Santana. "Children, stop playing. We need to work on our song. Well, me and Santana."

Both Santana and Puck pouted and instantly hung their heads. "But we wanna play!" Puck protested.

Rachel flicked his forehead, earning a hiss from Puck and an "Ooh" from Santana. "What did I say?" She hid her smirk well, glowering at Puck. He shrank back and ruffled Santana's hair.

"See you later, Squirt!" He yelled and ran out of the room. Santana groaned and Rachel started to fix Santana's messy hair.

Santana sat on the piano, looking up at Rachel. "Just put it in a ponytail."

"But you look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous whenever your hair is down." Rachel argued, stomping her little diva foot for dramatic effect.

Santana blushed and shook her head. "I'm going to have to go to Cheerios practice after school anyways."

Rachel pouted and sat beside Santana on the piano chair, laying her head against the piano keys. "Not fair."

Santana huffed. "How about I'll let you do my hair before the party tomorrow?" She offered. Rachel lifted her head and smiled at Santana. She grabbed Santana's face into her hands and planted kisses all over her face. Santana's tan skin covered most of her blush, but it was still noticeable.

"Oh, so cute." Rachel cooed and then snickered. Santana growled at her which made Rachel immediately stop. Santana lunged at Rachel's sides, tickling her. Rachel wheezed loudly, giggling. "St-stop!" Rachel laughed.

Santana smirk. "Then say I'm the baddest bad ass that has ever bad assed."

"I'm the baddest bad ass that has ever bad assed." Rachel answered.

"Okay, smart ass. Last chance." She threatened, tickling Rachel now to where she was gasping for air like a fish for water.

"You win! You're the baddest bad ass that has ever bad assed." Rachel whimpered. Santana sat back with a glint of mischievousness in her eyes, that smile never leaving her lips.

"Thanks, Rach." Santana grinned, puffing up her chest proudly. Rachel pouted as they started to work on their song for tomorrow.

"What song do you think best complements my voice as well as yours?" Rachel asked Santana.

"Well, you're really good at putting emotion where it needs to be, so probably a sappy song." Santana mused.

"And perhaps a raspy one for you as well?" Rachel suggested to which Santana nodded. "It'll take some digging, but I'm sure I can find one." Rachel smiled.

XXX

Santana and Rachel parted ways reluctantly, though they'd see each other in less than an hour. Rachel sat in her economics class watching the clock until glee. She had had a weird feeling. Something's been nagging at her since she came out of that bathroom with Santana. She caught Quinn staring at her with a face like she was trying to figure her out in the hallway. She couldn't exactly extract a confession out of Quinn, though. She could make up an excuse that she was looking at someone else, though Rachel was adamant that Quinn was looking at her. Quinn. Rachel sighed to herself as she opened her locker. She looked at all of the pictures of her friends. However, there was one picture she treasured the most. She picked up the small picture of a hospitalized Quinn with her child, Beth. Quinn didn't want any pictures, but Rachel couldn't help it. This was the only baby picture Beth had to Rachel's extent of knowledge. She smiled as she traced the edges of the small picture. She placed it back behind a picture of her fathers. As soon as she closed her locker, Quinn appeared in front of her. "Would you like me to walk you to glee, Rachel?" Quinn asked.

Rachel's jaw dropped and she stood there, dumbfounded. "Uh, why yes. Thank you, Quinn for the offer, but I, well, you know." She stuttered, not thinking of a lie to tell Quinn.

Quinn pursed her lips. "Just let me do this." She pleaded.

Rachel smoothed out her skirt and nodded to Quinn. The halls were clear since every student hated spending a minute more than they had to at this school. They both walked in silence, Rachel seeming to fold into herself more with every step. They arrived at the choir room and Rachel ascended the stairs to sit by a confused looking Santana and a smiling Brittany. Quinn sat in the middle of the first row, turning her attention to Mr. Schue who _just_ walked in. "Hey guys!" He greeted.

A chorus of hellos followed in suit as he made his way over to the marker board. "Alright guys, get into your group and starting planning for your duets tomorrow." He said enthusiastically.

Rachel turned to see Santana shooting daggers at Quinn and flicked her forehead. Santana let out a groan and rubbed her temple. "Why'd you do that for?" Santana whined.

"You will treat others with respect, Ms. Lopez." Rachel scolded. Santana huffed and crossed her arms.

"We'll see about that. Did you find out what song we're going to sing yet?" Santana asked, quickly changing the subject.

Rachel shook her head in annoyance. "Not yet, but I'll check my laptop tonight, okay? We can practice before school in here tomorrow." Santana groaned after that proclamation. "Okay, when do you propose that we actually practice our song?" Rachel retorted.

Santana sunk in her chair even more, holding her tongue. "That's what I thought." Rachel smirked.

"What are you wearing to the party?" Santana asked, having just thought of the fun night planned ahead.

Rachel blushed. "I hadn't thought about that. I'm not sure. I might wear some jeans and a t-shirt. Keeping it casual as you say."

Santana smirked. "I usually mean sex when I say that, Berry."

Rachel's face was as red as a tomato and it caught the attention of other gleeks. "Are you okay?" "Are you choking?" "Figures. She always wants to have the attention on herself." Rachel swatted Santana's arm.

Santana whimpered. "What was this one for?" She whined.

"You embarrassed me in front of our friends. Now apologize." Rachel explained.

Santana growled out an apology as Schuester released them from the meeting. They walked to Rachel's car and she hugged her. "Don't drive tomorrow. I'll swing by and pick you up, okay Tiny?" Santana smiled.

Rachel nodded and buried her face in Santana's cheerleading top. "I will. After practice is over, drive home safe." Rachel said, but it came out muffled, making Santana laugh.

"Will do, Blue-Berry."


	7. Chapter 7: Time to Party

**A/N: Thanks to all who favoured, followed, and reviewed. Those reviews made me smile. I got a private message about the nature of Santana's and Rachel's relationship. Their relationship is completely platonic. This fanfic is Faberry-centric and I've yet to decide if Santana will be with Brittany or not. I'd like to point out that in a lot of fanfics that I've read, Quinn seems to just turn over a new leaf completely and in a small amount of time. In my fic, she will be the bad guy in a lot of cases because she has a role she has to break out of and it takes a lot more than attraction to someone. She doesn't even understand her own feelings and that causes her to take it out the person that she's feeling this way about. It'll be going into depth and it will take a while for Quinn to change. Also, I want to focus on aspects of her religion because I believe that's a big part of this persona that she plays, so there's lots of good times and drama to look forward to. Her father put a lot of ideas in her head when she was a kid and he's barely been out of her life for a little less than a year. That's bound to stress her out. Enjoy.**

Quinn couldn't sleep. She had been tossing and turning, as if every movement kept the depths of her mind from grazing her lips. She had a ghost in her head, lurking, waiting for her to slip up. She carried herself well, a stone mask that melted into Quinn's insecurity, and it had been working well. Well, up until Cheerios practice.

She had been walking onto the field when Coach Sylvester called her over. Santana stood by Brittany, both staring at her with a curious lit. She climbed the stairs and placed her hands on her hips. "Yes Coach?" She asked.

"I heard that you know something about cars." Sue started off. Quinn blanched. "So, in light of recent circumstances, I've decided that anytime before practice, you will washing all of the cheerleading squad's vehicles on your own time. Mine included." Sue grinned victoriously.

Quinn openly gaped at her superior. "But th-that's at least twenty cars." Quinn protested.

"Good. You can count. I'd never be able to keep you as captain without basic math skills." Sue smirked. "You are dismissed, Q." The cheerleading coach turned her attention to the squad and barked commands at them.

Quinn glared at the steel floor, then set off to the field. She kept wishing that she had slipped some poison in Santana's water bottle, but she'd have to think of another way to get even with the Latina. Practice seemed to be even more stressing to her since Coach Sylvester seemed hell-bent on making Quinn feel like shit about Rachel's car. It's not like it didn't come without perks either. Most of the people on the football team and her own Cheerios seemed to support her and were loyal to her now, if not before. But she still knew right from wrong. She was just as strongly a believer of Christ as she was a Cheerio.

Quinn rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "God, what am I going to do?" She sighed. At least Kurt and her were able to practice their song, _Just Friends _by Amy Winehouse. She had been stressing about that as well, but she felt comfortable about how they performed together. Kurt seemed weird to Quinn. He didn't seem like one of those predatory gay males that her father use to talk about. She didn't know how she personally felt about it. Kurt was so nice, well, whenever he was in a good mood. He was just a fucking bitch whenever he was in any other mood. Her church was very outspoken against homosexuals, but her best friend Santana was gay, and Brittany was at least bisexual. They weren't devil worshiping scum as her church painted homosexuals as. In fact, Santana usually attended services at her own church. Quinn herself was a catholic while Santana was something else. She wasn't sure because they usually tiptoe around a religious topic. She didn't have an opinion on homosexuality, she supposed.

Kurt was talking about something earlier...something about Rachel's dad Hiriam. She had forgotten that Rachel had two gay dads. Was Rachel gay? No. She couldn't be. She had hung over Finn all of last year. But that didn't mean anything did it? She could be bisexual like Brittany, but Rachel had never mentioned anything about girls she liked. She always said girls were beautiful, but Quinn assumed that she meant it in the nonchalant, "girl power" way. These kinds of thoughts wouldn't stop bothering her. Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. She hated that name so much. She couldn't keep her name out of her head. Was it normal to be thinking about someone this much, especially when they're your enemy? She thought it was. She felt her mask slipping all the time, vulnerable, she guessed, as a label for her feelings. She hated feeling that way, like she couldn't control everything. She could and she would. Last year was a mistake, but this year, she can reclaim her throne. She could finally be happy and at peace with herself.

She turned onto her side, facing her bedroom window. She hoped that one day she could accept Rachel's offer of friendship. She felt something for the girl, she knew that, but she didn't know what, and uneasiness nibbled at Quinn's spine. The way things were going now, she kept feeling like she'd extinguish Rachel's flame or send her over the edge. The diva was going through so much right now and what Quinn saw today looked like a nervous breakdown. She felt a pang of anger and her chest tightened. She wanted to be angry at Rachel; she wanted Rachel to hurt her. She felt like a two hundred pound weight laid on her heart and it grew her anger. But she wasn't angry at Rachel. She couldn't be. She lied to herself and aimed her anger at Rachel when she was really furious with herself.

Quinn sighed and sat up in bed, looking out of her window. She didn't know why she was such an awful person. She always tried to reason with herself that an awful person wouldn't feel bad about all the stuff she's done, but for the most part, she hasn't felt bad. At least, only about Rachel was she having grief over. Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. She disliked that name. It was practically written on a small piece of her heart. Was it because she tortured her the most? Was it because Quinn had a weak spot? Rachel stayed with Quinn throughout her birthing process in the hospital. It shocked Quinn because she would've thought Rachel would stay behind with the others, considering how seriously she took show choir. She loved that about Rachel. The way Rachel's eyes would light up at the soft mention of a musical. She loved the way a song could make Rachel skip to her classes. Quinn loved music because Rachel's passion for it made her love it so. Rachel would go places, Quinn would make sure of that. But Quinn feared that Rachel would be stuck in Lima more than she feared that fate of herself. Rachel didn't need to live here in Lima with a husband, or wife, Quinn noted, and kids to take care of. No. She needed to be on Broadway living her dream, because God knows that Rachel has suffered for her dreams enough for her to be recognized. She was the most self-sacrificing and talented person, and if Rachel had to have an interview, she'd testify that.

She laid back in her bed, feeling resolved and satisfied for now, though it wouldn't be long until she woke and entertained such thoughts. Rachel would be okay, and that makes Quinn feel okay. It confused her, how connected they were yet how she desperately tried to cut it. Goddamn it, she had tried so many times, but she still had three strings connected to Rachel and it would be stupid to keep trying to sever the ties to her. However, Quinn was a great actress at hiding her feelings and she could ignore whatever she felt for-no, about Rachel. She couldn't keep the act up forever, but she could until high school was over. Then she'd be free. She'd be okay. Rachel would be okay. Things would be okay and Quinn wouldn't have to pretend to be someone she's not. Everyone could finally be okay and Quinn would no longer have to hurt them.

XXX

After practice was over, Santana was surprised to see Rachel's car still here. She saw the tiny diva reading a magazine and she knocked on the car's window. "Hey, Rae. What are you still doing here?" Santana asked. She glanced around the parking lot. The sun had set and it was about seven at night. She had reckoned that Rachel would be home by now.

Rachel rolled down the window. "Brittany told me earlier that she was getting picked up and her parents wouldn't be able to fit you all in their car, so I decided to take the task upon myself and drive you home." Rachel smiled.

"Rachel, I can't just make you wait for me after every practice." Santana protested weakly.

Rachel smirked and patted the passengers seat. "Well I waited, so don't disappoint me and just walk home."

Santana hung her head and scuffled her feet against the concrete. She took her seat beside Rachel and smiled whenever she saw the petite girl wearing a matching smile on her face. She put on her seat belt to quell Rachel's distress, then Rachel peeled out of the parking lot. The drive was peaceful and quiet, but not that it bothered either girl. It was a peculiar comfortable silence, leaving each girl to their own thoughts.

"So, uh, did you have a good practice?" Rachel smiled.

"It was alright. I got a charlie horse whenever I was running laps so my leg kind of hurts." Santana admitted. Apparently, she was wrong to bring it up to the diva since she started to freak a bit.

"You got the "charlie horse" because you don't eat right! You need a banana in you! Potassium is very important in maintaining a balanced nutrition which otherwise could lead to medical problems. As soon as I get home, I am planning out a well structured meal plan for you!" She reprimanded.

Santana stared at Rachel, the tiny diva's chest expanding to and fro. "I need a banana in me? I think you've forgotten that I'm a lesbian, babe." Santana smirked and bit her lip to keep from guffawing.

Rachel pouted. "You need to eat a banana! Your health is not a laughing matter! Must you be so crude?"

Santana howled with laughter, causing Rachel to pull her car over. "Young lady, I will tell your mother about your shenanigans if you keep it up!" Rachel threatened.

Laughter drowned out the music playing from the radio and Rachel swerved the car onto the road once more, the orange arrow switching from zero to sixty in seconds flat. Santana looked over to Rachel who had a determined look on her face. The grin instantly dropped from Santana's face. "You're kidding, right?"

Rachel didn't answer and instead pushed on the gas harder.

Santana sat back into her seat and tried to hold on to whatever she could find. "You should really slow down." Santana mentioned.

Rachel turned to her and glared, silencing Santana's words immediately. "Shush it, Lopez. I'm telling your mother."

Santana gasped. "Please don't. My mother expects me to be a good child. Don't talk to her about this." She pleaded.

The brunette shrugged. "It's out of my control." Rachel smirked and parked into the Lopez estate driveway. She shook her head. This was definitely not Lima Heights Adjacent.

She arrived at the lovely detailed cherry wood door just as Santana was running to catch up with her. She rung the doorbell and smiled at Santana.

"Please, Rae, I'm sorry. I'll eat a banana. Hell, I'll eat twenty bananas if that's what you want." Santana begged.

"I can't help that you didn't listen, so now your mother is going to take care of that business." Rachel said with a note of finality.

"Why are you being such an ass-" Santana started just as a middle-aged woman answered the door. She had a theme of blue and light green patterns on her shirt and black slacks. Her eyes were a glorious cocoa hue and her wrinkles fitted her face more than most people.

"Such a what, Mi'ja?" The elder woman asked Santana sweetly, but there was a warning tone in her voice as well.

"N-nothing, Mami. I'm sorry." Santana gulped.

"That's right. I'm sorry if my daughter was being rude. My name is Maribel Lopez, and yours?" She politely asked Rachel.

"I'm Rachel Berry." Rachel grinned and shook Mrs. Lopez's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Mrs. Lopez."

"Oh please! Call me Maribel. Please come in." Maribel replied.

"Thank you. Come along, Sanny." Rachel said as she followed Maribel inside. Santana begrudgingly followed after Rachel as she shut the door. They entered the living room. Rachel smiled as she looked at the décor in the room. It looked like there was a heavy tan and light brown color scheme, and the artwork that lay upon the walls seem to be very influenced by Hispanic heritage. "You have a lovely home, Maribel." Rachel said.

"Thank you." She beamed at Rachel. After Rachel turned her back to look at the wall, Maribel mouthed to Santana, _I like this friend_.

Santana face heated and she shook her head. "Anyways, Rachel if you could hurry up this conversation, that'd be nice."

"Ouch, Santana. I thought I was your friend." Rachel's face fell. She was putting on a show for Santana, but the young Latina needn't know that.

Santana instantly walked over to Rachel and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. "You know I didn't mean it that way, you little faker." Santana smiled in amusement.

"How'd you know I was lying?" Rachel whined.

"Because I know you, Rae. I haven't known you for long, but I know you're kind of a bad actor. If I really hurt you, then you wouldn't have said anything." Santana replied smugly.

Maribel laughed. "Santana, you're such a teddy bear. Ven aca, Rachel."

Rachel stood there, not really sure what Maribel said. She hated high school Spanish because it was too formal and no actual Spanish-speaking person speaks like that anymore.

"It means 'Come here'." Santana chuckled and pulled Rachel over to the brown leather couch across Maribel who was sitting in the armchair. Rachel blushed and smoothed out her skirt as soon as she sat down.

"What is it that you wanted to express to me?" Maribel asked.

"Uh, well, Santana has a poor diet. I'm not saying that you don't feed her." Rachel quickly added. "I just think that Santana needs to have a more balanced lifestyle. She told me she had pulled a tendent in her leg and that's most likely from lack of potassium."

Maribel paused for a few moments. "Oh my, Santana. How did you get so lucky as to find this little gem?" She grinned, reaching over to squeeze Rachel's cheek. The diva blushed and sunk into the couch, embarrassed. "You seem like a nice enough girl. I'm glad you're looking out for my girl."

Rachel put her hands over her face and let out a tiny squeak. Santana wasn't fairing much better. A red tint could be seen on her cheeks and she tried to avoid looking at her mother. "Mom, please. You're embarrassing me."

"Oh hush. You're grounded for swearing in my house. I don't mind it for outdoors, but you will be respectable in this household. Do you understand, Mi'ja?" Maribel glowered.

Santana's lips formed a grimace and she nodded. "A week?" She asked.

Maribel nodded back. "A week. You can start by gathering the trash in all of the bathrooms while you leave me and your friend to talk."

The younger Lopez looked from her mother to Rachel and then she started to walked upstairs. "Don't worry, Rachel. I'll be back soon." She smiled somewhat unsure.

Rachel blew quietly and sat up, momentarily cursing herself for acting so bashful and rude as guest in Santana's home. "S-so what would you like t-to discuss?" Rachel asked.

Maribel stared at Rachel, assessing her from head to toe. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"Well, we are just friends. I do not wish to pursue past that." Rachel assured her.

The silver-streak haired woman chortled. "Thank goodness. You both seem to have a questionable relationship. All of the gestures, very romantic. I wondered what happened with Brittany and Santana." Maribel explained.

Rachel's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "My God, no. Santana is very beautiful, and perhaps if I was not already in love, I would pursue her, but nothing beyond friendly feelings will happen between me and your daughter. I wasn't aware that you knew Santana was gay."

"Santana is-" Maribel balled her hands into fist and pressed them together "closed. I could never go to her to talk about it because then she will withdraw from me even more. She will have to take her time and tell me. A mother always knows." Maribel sighed sadly. Rachel tried to give a supportive smile and she put her hand over Maribel's.

"Santana is, she's a smart girl. She's very lucky to have an open-minded mother like yourself. Does your husband know?" Rachel asked.

Maribel nodded. "Yes, of course. However, her abuela doesn't know, and that's how it'll remain for now. I have reason to believe that she will not understand Santana as much as her mami and papi do."

Rachel sighed at that. "I don't understand how it is such a bad thing. You're gay, big deal. It honestly doesn't turn a person into a goddamn cannibalistic goat. I have two gay dads and I seem to have turned out pretty well." Rachel growled. She put her hand over her mouth. "I am so sorry that I have been a poorly-mannered guest in your home since the point of my arrival."

Maribel waved her hand and scoffed. "You've been lovely dear. I'm glad that you are very passionate about this. It feels good to be able to talk about this. I've never really had anything to do with homosexuals, not that I've purposefully avoided them. I'm not sure how to go about this. How do I talk about sex with Santana? Is Antonio suppose to threaten any dates she brings home?" She ranted.

"Antonio?" Rachel asked confused.

"My husband." Maribel explained.

Rachel nodded. "Ah. I can help with whatever you need to learn about. I can look up some resources online for you whenever I get home." Rachel offered.

Maribel smiled and wiped a tear from her eye. "I'd appreciate that greatly. I just, I just don't want Santi coming home crying and stay locked up in her room. I know that she's hurting and I think I know why, but I never know what to do. I don't want to add to her hurt."

"It'll be alright, Maribel. Santana loves you very much. She just needs some time. Plus, she's got me, and I'm pretty great, huh?" Rachel joked. Rachel's smiled reflected onto Maribel's as Santana was coming down the stairs.

"God, you guys look wrecked." Santana chuckled weakly, concerned for her mother and friend. Maribel rose and wrapped her arms around Santana tightly. Santana returned the hug after a few moments and buried her head into her mother's shoulder. Rachel smiled and wiped away some stray tears. She missed her own dads, but they wouldn't be home for a while, at least three or four months though she lied to Santana and told her two weeks.

Santana pulled away from her mother and pressed her lips against Maribel's forehead. "I love you, Mama."

"I love you too, Santi." Maribel smiled and hugged her daughter again, shorter than before.

"I think I'm going to go home. I still need to eat dinner and take a shower." Rachel mentioned after the little family moment was over.

"Nonsense. It's been a while since Santana has had a friend over and I want you to taste my cooking. Best in all of Lima." Maribel declared.

Rachel shook her head. "I couldn't impose on you guys."

Santana smiled and ruffled Rachel's hair, soliciting a "hey" from the diva. "Oh shut up Tiny and eat some of my Ma's bomb cooking."

Maribel gave Santana a pointed look and Santana's shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry, but please stay. You've never been over before, Rae." Santana whined.

"Alright, Lopez. Impress me." Rachel sighed and then looked at Santana with a smirk. She leaned up into Santana's ear and whispered, "And you didn't think that I was a good actor."

She skipped along Maribel into the kitchen while Santana folded her arms across her chest and scoffed. Maribel had been cooking before the teens had arrived and finished just as the door bell rang. She cooked red beans and rice with some type of beef. It was embarrassing to explain to Maribel that she was a vegan, though Maribel didn't mind at all. She ordered vegetarian pizza in place on dinner. Whenever the pizza delivery girl showed up, Rachel offered to pay, but Maribel slapped her hand away as well as Santana's hand because damn, she was hungry.

Santana decided to put on a musical, her mother fond of them as well. She wanted to please the two most important women in her life, besides her Brittany of course. They were watching West Side Story and she thought of Quinn. It was comforting to Santana that Rachel was seeming to be more acceptable of things since Santana's been around, but Quinn was a force to be reckoned with. Quinn's behavior has blew Santana's mind time and time again, but it's not until recently that it's set her on edge. Quinn seems to have grown more...more involved in Rachel's life to the point where she threatens Santana that she'll find out Rachel's "secret" one way or another. It's not necessarily a secret, in Santana's opinion, anyways. Rachel always stares at Quinn like she's the goddamn Mother of Sex or whatever. So maybe Santana's a little jealous, but she has a right to be, or maybe she doesn't. She's only been friends with Rachel for a short while, but it's felt longer than that. Damn that teenage nostalgic-like memory. Rachel was Santana's friend and Santana would protect, even from the girl her friend loves. That was another questionable thing about Rachel, and perhaps Quinn too. Santana imagines that they'd be such a cute couple together and everything, but Quinn wasn't gay, and she didn't want Rachel to depend on Quinn to be her lover. She needs to find a way to get Rachel over Quinn, but it's hard to stop loving someone, and sometimes you don't stop.

The movie was over and she saw Rachel and Maribel asleep on the couch. She smiled and pulled a blanket over the sleeping nerds. She started to clean up the living room, putting up the veggie pizza in Ziploc bags just as keys rattling stirred outside, and then the door opened. Her papi was home.

"Hey, beautiful girl, where's your mother?" Antonio Lopez asked as he kissed his daughter's forehead.

"She fell asleep watching a musical. Oh, uh, my friend Rachel fell asleep too so I guess she's going to stay over for tonight?" Santana proposed.

"Your _friend_?" Antonio questioned. He knew he was verging on uncharted lesbian territory, but he needed to know if he needed to threatened his little girl's girl.

"Yeah, my friend?" She asked more than stated, since he confused her with his mimicked question.

They shared an unknown tensed stare and left to look at the sleeping girls on the couch.

"Your friend is pretty. Her name?" Antonio smiled.

"Her name is Rachel." Santana replied, beaming at her father. He doesn't really approve of most of her friends, so it meant a lot that he instantly likes her little star.

"As in Berry?" He turned to her, as if looking at her would answer his question.

Santana's voice took on an uncharacteristic high tone. "Yeah.."

"Good. She's talented, smart, and a nice young lady." Antonio said after a few brief moments of silence.

Santana let out a breath of air that she didn't know she was holding and she grinned. Rachel began to stir and starting whining, "Qua-Qua..." Santana didn't know what she was saying, but she had a pretty good guess. She walked over to Rachel and lifted her up.

"Do you got her? I can carry her up if it's too much." Antonio offered and Santana shook her head.

"Nah. Cheerios practice has helped a lot with holding people for long periods of time." Santana chuckled as she slowly carried Rachel up the stairs. She walked to her room and struggled to open her door, but she managed and laid the sleeping girl onto her bed. Santana missed her cuddling times with Rachel. She shook her head of those thoughts and smiled. She pulled back her blankets and sheets, changed quickly, and laid in bed with Rachel.

Beautiful orbs of brown peeked open slowly and then landed on Santana. "God, you're lucky I like cuddling, you big softy." Rachel whispered and closed her eyes again.

Santana kissed Rachel's forehead and closed her eyes as well. "You're one too, meanie. Goodnight, Rae. Sleep tight."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." Rachel smiled and drifted back into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.

XXX

"Sin equals O over H, then Cos is.." Mrs. Hillsby droned on in a nasally high voice. Santana just wanted a few more moments of sleep, but she knew she needed to pay attention otherwise Rachel would be nagging at her about her grades. Brittany was trying to help keep Santana awake, but she was too distracted by worrying about Quinn. All Brittany had been thinking about all night was Quinn and what she could do to help Sanny and Rachie. She even consulted Lord Tubbington though he didn't have much to say on the matter except that they shouldn't be acting so stupid.

Brittany leaned back in her chair and blew out slowly. She was usually very perceptive, but she couldn't tell how Quinn exact feels. It's like Quinn's a fading dot on one of those radars. It seems like she'll get as close to Rachel as she can and then turn right back around. Quinn was good on the inside, Brittany knew that, but she couldn't say that most people weren't afraid of Quinn. She had a very intimidating person, plus she was so beautiful. She could understand why Rachel loved Quinn. Quinn had a soft side. She loved anything dealing with art or music, but she'd never let that show. Beyond the harsh practices, Quinn also loved cheerleading. It was too an art, but many never saw it that way. Quinn did. Rachel had a lot in common with Quinn, Brittany supposed. Rachel is just more goal-oriented whereas Quinn doesn't have a clue what she wants to do after school. Brittany thought about that too. Rachel was determined to not let anyone hold her back, even someone she was in a relationship with. Perhaps Brittany could help Quinn set her sights on New York? There was a prestigious school there, but she had forgotten the name of it.

"Hey, B. It's time for out next class." Santana pulled Brittany out of her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry." Brittany giggled. "I was daydreaming."

"It's okay. Let's go." Santana smiled and led the slender blonde out of the classroom. The walked down the school corridor to Rachel's locker and walked Rachel to her class. They all parted ways as Santana and Rachel had class together that period.

"How are you fairing today, Santana?" Rachel smiled and sat down beside the raven-haired girl.

"I'm doing good, Berry. How 'bout you?" Santana replied politely.

Rachel's smile grew. "I'm doing excellent. I have achieved a ninety-eight in Calculus!"

Santana lifted her head up and hugged the diva tightly. "That's great! I'm proud of you."

"Thanks. We had a quiz today and I had forgotten that I didn't have any pencils here at school and Quinn let me borrow one. She actually let me borrow a pencil _from her._" Rachel exclaimed, actually excited at the notion that she borrow a pencil from her love.

Santana bit her lip. "About Quinn..." She started and then the smile from Rachel's lips fell.

"What about her?" Rachel urged Santana on.

Santana hesitated. "She's, well, not gay, and she's not exactly the best person to have a crush on. I think that you should try to-to get over her." Santana winced, waiting for Rachel to react, but she relaxed when the shorter girl seemed to be lost in thought. It was a little eerie, as Rachel was usually never this quiet unless she was asleep or angry.

"I can see your logic behind this, and believe me, I'll get over her someday, but why force it? I say just let it run freely. It's not like my feelings are requited. I understand that I won't be with her, but I'd like to keep dreaming for now, okay?" Rachel said in a hollowed, low whisper.

The taller girl nodded and patted Rachel's back in a comforting manner. The girls decided to keep the table silent for that period, both lost in their own thoughts. Santana was right. Quinn was nowhere near gay, and Rachel should give it up. However, Rachel didn't want to, obviously, but she knew she should. Rachel sighed. Another was heard beside her. Santana understood. Santana loved Brittany just as strongly as Rachel felt about Quinn, but Rachel had to realize that Quinn was her unrequited love. She could move on. But she didn't want to.

The bell rang and Santana held onto Rachel's hand, linking pinkies with Brittany as soon as they stepped outside of the room. They walked down the hallway, not quite sure what to say to each other.

"So how was class guys?" Brittany grinned.

"It was alright. We just had to take notes." Santana replied quietly.

"Yeah, it was okay." Rachel added which made Brittany instantly frown, confused by the detrimental attitudes that both girls were exhibiting.

Brittany scoffed. "You guys would be great to bring to a party." She left the two girls by themselves, needing to think alone for right now and she didn't want to be negatively influenced.

Santana put her hand over her face and sighed. "Shit. I pushed her away." Santana growled and kicked one of the bottom lockers. Rachel pulled her back and hugged her, nuzzling into her chest.

"It's not your fault. Brittany wasn't upset. Perhaps a bit snarky, but she wouldn't have just left like that if she was mad. She likes confrontation." Rachel reasoned. Santana nodded and relaxed her tensed shoulders, wrapping her arms around Rachel's tiny waist.

"Thanks, Strawberry." Santana weakly smiled.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You can do better than that Auntie Snixx." Rachel smirked and quickly ran into her class. Santana followed her and snorted.

"At least Auntie Snixx is badass. Not that I can say that about you, Strawberry." She smirked.

Rachel pouted. "Shush! You need to get to class. And I am too badass."

"Oh yeah, a badass really pouts as much as you do." Santana retorted. Rachel let out a breath of annoyance which only caused Santana to laugh and she started to shake. "Oh my, that scared me! You're too badass." She joked.

"Get to class, Lopez." Rachel growled.

Santana smirked and kissed Rachel's head. "Sure thing Chica. By the way, that was a nice meow." She patted Rachel's shoulder and then left the classroom.

Rachel shook her head and smiled despite wanting to be angry at the cheerleader. "Such a little nerd." She uttered and started to listen to her teacher's lecture.

XXX

"So guys, who's going to go first for their duets?" Mr. Schuester asked his glee club. Quinn didn't want to be the first so she made sure to glare at Kurt to keep from raising his hand. Mike and Tina decided to go first singing _Still Into You_ by Paramore. It made Rachel smile. They are really a great couple, she thought. Next, Brittany and Artie sang _Let Her Go_ by Passenger. It confused both Rachel and Santana as to why they chose that song, but it was a nice rendition nonetheless. Finn and Puck went, then Mercedes and Sam. The only people left were Santana, Rachel, Quinn, and Kurt. Mr. Schue announced that they could go on Monday if they were adamant that they did not want to perform today.

He released the glee clubbers and Rachel strolled out into the barren hallway with Santana and Puck. "So are you guys still coming to my party? 'Cause it would be kind of difficult to throw a party in your honor and you not be there." He smirked.

Rachel grinned and raised and eyebrow at Santana. "I don't know. Santana?"

"Hells yeah! I've been waiting for a classic rager at Puckie's." Santana grinned.

Puck high-fived the taller girl while the tiny diva rolled her eyes. "Children, please. I need to go get ready if we're going to party."

"I'm picking out what you wear." Santana told Rachel seriously.

Puck nodded in agreement. "It's not that your style is bad," "Yes it is." "Shut it, San. It's not that it's bad. It's just not party material."

"Oh forget that. I'll surprise both of you." Rachel scoffed. "So I'll pick you up at six then, Santi?"

Santana nodded and smirked slightly. "You better make me orgasm when I see you or we'll spend the next hour changing your clothes."

"Must you be so crass?" Rachel squeaked and her ears and cheeks flushed pink. Santana shrugged as they walked out of the double doors.

Puck made his way over to Quinn who had been "admiring" the trophy case throughout Rachel's conversation. "So baby mama, you coming?"

"Coming to what?" Quinn asked innocently.

"Oh you know." Puck laughed. "My party. You coming?"

Quinn shrugged. "We'll see. Is this another attempt to get me to sleep with you because last time that didn't end too well." She joked.

Puck's smile fell off his face at the mention of Beth. "Uh, n-no." He quietly replied and then put on a fake smile. "But there's going to be a little brewsky; vodka, whiskey, even some fruity shit if you like that."

"Sure, I'll come, but I'm not drinking." Quinn smiled lightly and waved goodbye to Puck. She walked outside and climbed into her car. She glanced at Rachel standing next to Santana by her car. Quinn narrowed her eyes. She didn't like Santana's close proximity to the small brunette. It...bothered her, to say the least. Santana wrapped her arms around the diva, Quinn tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Santana planted a kiss on Rachel's cheek and that had Quinn speeding out of the parking lot, narrowly missing Santana's car.

"Goddamn it, Fabray." Santana yelled after Quinn. Quinn sped faster, clenching and un-clenching her jaw. She smiled a little bit after pissing off Santana, but her unknown anger still remained. She rushed home to put on her "party clothes". If Santana was going to the party- with Rachel- then she was going.

XXX

Rachel finished putting on her makeup and finally put on her strapless black dress that hugged her hips and stretched mid-way down to her thighs. She put on matching black heels and she shook her head in front of the mirror, making it look messy, but sexy. She locked up her house and then drove over to Santana's house. She rung the bell and a man, she assumed Antonio, Santana's father, answered it. "Hello, Rachel. Please come in."

"Thank you, Mr. Lopez. Is Santana ready yet?" Rachel questioned politely.

Antonio chuckled. "Call me Antonio and not to my knowledge." A crash came from upstairs. "She's dropped that hairdryer or the billionth time today."

Rachel's nerves seem to relax after not being interrogated by Antonio as she had with Maribel. Speaking of Maribel, she entered the living room as soon as Rachel thought of her.

"There you are. It's been so long." Maribel smiled and hugged Rachel.

Rachel tried to cover up a laugh by coughing. "It has quite literally only been a few hours, Maribel."

Maribel waved a hand of dismissal. "Nonsense. It's been an eternity."

Rachel giggled and leaned against the wall. She made idle conversation with Antonio and Maribel as Santana came down the stairs. Santana's jaw dropped when she saw Rachel and the same could be said for the diva. "Holy shi-" "Santana!" "Sorry. It's just, wow." She murmured, her brain short-circuiting.

"You don't look too bad yourself, hon." Rachel smirked. She was honestly proud of her own voice now shaking. Santana was dressed in a dark maroon dress, split to where a tanned leg could be seen. And goddamn did that leg look great. It hugged all of Santana's curves, which made her father uneasy, but her friend's mouth water.

Santana scoffed. "Let's go before I die of dehydration because I am thirsty." Santana winked at Rachel which caused the tiny girl to blush.

"Don't get into too much trouble." Antonio yelled, still edgy about Santana's dress. His wife smirked and slapped the back of his head. "What the hell, mujer?"

"Let them have fun. They only have this moment for a short while and then they're adults." She smiled wistfully and kissed Antonio's cheek. He watched Rachel and Santana get into Rachel's black Prius and grinned a little.

XXX

"You almost made me orgasm in front of my parents, Berry. That was hitting below the belt." Santana pouted.

Rachel shrugged. "I told you that I'd surprise you. Plus, I told you that you'd amazing too." Rachel added with a cocky tone.

"Shut it, you." Santana huffed and crossed her arms.

Rachel grinned and patted Santana's shoulder. "It's payback, bitch."

Santana's eyes widened a little. "Did Rachel Barbra Berry just swear?"

"I do that sometimes, Santana." Rachel rolled her eyes.

Santana snickered. "So inappropriate, my dear."

Rachel sighed. "Kids these days."

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" Santana protested. Rachel grinned at her and parked on a lawn near Puck's house since the street was crowded with cars. "Sweet! Time to party! Follow my lead, darling." Santana smirked and got out of the car.

Rachel followed Santana outside. She felt like she dressed too formal, but Santana didn't say anything about it. Puck greeted them at the door. Well he was about the say hello when the approached him, but he looked like he was seeing God. "Oh my God." He whined and snapped out of his momentary daze. "You both look amazing! You really did surprise me."

Rachel smirked. "It's all in the technique of being a woman, Noah."

Both Santana and Puck rolled their eyes and followed Rachel inside. "Okay booze is in the ice chest by the fireplace, food's in the fridge, bathroom's down the hall, and that pretty much covers it. Oh, and no hanky-panky taking place in my Ma's or my sister's rooms. I locked them both so that only leaves my room and the basement. My room's obviously already reserved so if you guys can contain it to you guys' car, then that'd be great." Puck smirked. "Let's get this party started!" He yelled.

Rachel followed Santana to the ice chest since she couldn't exactly hear Santana over the booming music. Santana passed a small bottle of Jagermeister to Rachel and pulled out a bottle of tequila for herself. She guided Rachel into Puck's kitchen where it was less crowded and she provided herself and Rachel with matching shot glasses.

"Really, naked women?" Rachel laughed when she saw the artwork on the shot glasses.

Santana shrugged and fill her shot with her choice of alcohol, then Rachel's with the small Jager's liquid. "The ladies are pretty hot, huh? Much like yourself." Santana flirted and winked at Rachel.

They both downed their shots just as Rachel's face flushed with embarrassment. Rachel's face contorted into a sour one. "Ugh, this is not my preference." She laughed. Santana smiled and filled Rachel's shot with tequila.

"There you go. Try it." Santana urged.

Rachel downed the glasses and turned it over, slamming it down on the counter. She grinned. "I like that one much better."

Santana laughed as they mounted the bar stools, taking shots in a fluid movement. Fuck what Frankenteen said. This drunk-like Rachel wasn't clingy at all. She was funny, relaxed, and kind of flirty. A cocktail of greatness in Santana's opinion. However, she followed Rachel's line of sight whenever Rachel didn't respond to her question.

Quinn had came into the kitchen. She wore an olive green dress, much like Rachel's where it stopped at her mid-thigh, but a lot to see in Rachel's opinion. She had a white cardigan over her dress that perfected her look. Her lips seem to perk in the corners when she saw Rachel's befuddled expression. Rachel silently reprimanded herself and turned to Santana, trying to shake dirty thoughts of Quinn out of her head. "Hit me." Rachel commanded Santana.

Santana quickly filled up Rachel's shot glass. "Maybe you need to slow down, Blueberry. I thought you were going to drive."

Rachel downed her drink. "Can't you?" Her words had a tinge of desperation in it and it made Santana feel guilty, though she knew it was not herself to blame, but Quinn. Santana nodded and refilled Rachel's glass.

"Hey guys. Didn't think you both would be at the party." Quinn quietly uttered and smiled at the both of them. Rachel's movements stopped, but at least she stopped openly gaping at the blonde. Rachel felt like a toddler trying out words for the first time, but she couldn't speak.

Luckily, Santana spoke for her. "Yeah, well, we're here and we kind of want some privacy." The Latina growled.

Quinn's lips perked up into a smug smile. "Oh, well my apologies. I didn't know that you had something going on with the dwarf."

"She doesn't!" Rachel spoke quickly. She looked from Quinn to Santana and back again. "Not that the notion is absurd, but me and Santana have strictly platonic feelings for each other and I already admire someone else so for me to be romantically involved with a person that I do not feel that way about would be reckless for both of us and also painful in the long run." Rachel ranted.

Santana frowned at Rachel's alias Quinn gave to her and shook her head while Quinn knit her eyebrows in confused. _So that's her secret? That she likes someone? _Quinn thought to herself. "Is that so?" Quinn's mask slipped back into place and she grinned maliciously. "Then who is it, huh? I'd like to know."

"I don't believe it's any of your business, Tubbers, so leave Rae alone." Santana stood and face Quinn.

Quinn looked Santana up and down, then gave Rachel the once over. She faced Santana once again. "Don't bet on it." Quinn smirked and left the kitchen. Santana fell to her seat, exhausted. She looked over to Rachel who seemed to be upset.

"Are you okay, Tiny?" Santana asked softly.

Rachel looked up to Santana with glassy eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I am."

"No you're not. Come on." Santana grimaced and pulled Rachel into the living room with all the other teens. It smelled like sex and puberty. Perfect, Santana thought.

Rachel sighed. "San, what are you doing?"

"Slow dancing with my girl." Santana smirked and pressed her body against Rachel's, setting both of her hands on Rachel's hips. She slowly moved across the "dance floor" with Rachel as Rachel clasped her hands around the back of Santana's neck.

Rachel blushed. "Your girl?"

"Yeah, my girl. You're important to me, and I don't want to see that beautiful face contorted in pain." Santana whispered.

Rachel smiled and gazed into Santana's deep brown eyes. "Big words. Perhaps I'm influencing you too much." Rachel teased.

"Just a little bit." Santana teased back. She kissed Rachel's forehead, leaving her lips there for a few moments and then pulled back. "Don't let Quinn get to you. You'll get over her. I'll try to help you, but I can only do that if you want me to."

"I can do that." Rachel quietly replied and laid her head onto Santana's shoulder.

From afar, Quinn watched the sickening scene take place. She felt guilt from making Rachel upset, but she didn't think that Santana would be as twisted as to play with Rachel's heart. Quinn swore that she wasn't jealous of Santana, but deep down, she knew she was. However, she didn't want to admit that yet nor did she want to even think about it. She had figured out she was jealous as she was putting on her dress. It nagged at her again when she was putting her hair up. Quinn leaned against the doorway and imagined herself in Santana's place. She felt fluttering in her stomach and she touched her lips. She felt herself smiling and she replaced her smile with a stony thin line. Her mask was back in place, but that didn't stop her from daydreaming.

Quinn twirled Rachel and then pulled her back, slowly waltzing with the beautiful brunette. Rachel smiled, her white elegant teeth showing, and it made Quinn stop suddenly, her being mesmerized. "Hey baby mama."

Quinn turned to Puck with a slight pout and an annoyed look. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see if you were having a good time." He smiled, putting up his hands in defense.

Quinn quirked an eyebrow. "Yes, my idea of a good time is having drunk kids fumble over me."

Puck smiled. "Good, I'm glad you're having fun then." He left and went to party with some of his football teammates.

Quinn rolled her eyes and smiled, her eyes still tracking Santana and Rachel who had apparently given up slow dancing and went to grinding. Quinn tensed and moved uncomfortably in her spot. Both Santana and Rachel confessed that they weren't seeking anything beyond friendship, but it didn't fix Quinn's knotted stomach. It was like all the butterflies in her stomach were killed and tied together with three-string ropes. Rachel's back was pressed against Santana's front, slowly grinding. It caused Quinn to look around and stop herself from vomiting. She narrowed her eyes towards the duo and she made her way onto the floor, fuming. She pulled Rachel away from Santana harshly and she glared at Santana. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Santana demanded.

"Me? What about you? I thought you guys were "just friends"." Quinn sneered.

Rachel pulled back from Quinn causing the blonde to look at her, but Rachel's fiery eyes caused Quinn to step back. "Quinn Fabray, I have had enough of you for one night. For you to endlessly call me names and have your minions slushie and harass me is one thing, but to take out whatever issue you have with me on Santana is unacceptable. Do not mess with her again. Do as you wish with me, but not her." Rachel snapped.

Both Quinn and Santana seemed to be in awe from the diva's commands. Quinn nodded, apologized, and then rushed out of the room. "Go follow her." Santana urged gently. Rachel nodded her head and quickly ran after Quinn as fast as she could in high heels. She ran and ran until she found Quinn in a gazebo in a nearby park. As she quietly approached Quinn, she could hear sobbing.

"Quinn?" Rachel whispered.

"Go the fuck away, Treasure Trail!" Quinn screamed. Rachel pushed on and sat beside Quinn, unsure of how to comfort the normally stoic blonde.

"I won't go Quinn. I'll be here until the last day of senior year and then I'll be gone forever, out of your life. I won't be an obstacle in your life anymore." Rachel sighed. She stood to leave and then Quinn suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

And the words that broke Rachel's heart were "Please don't go, Rachel."

"I won't Quinn. What's wrong?" Rachel asked as she sat down. Quinn's eye makeup ran down her face in the shape of black tears.

"I don't know. I thought I knew, but everything is so confusing. I'm afraid. I don't know why, but I'm afraid! It makes me angry because I don't know why, and because I get angry, I get scared of myself because then I can't recognize myself and I am so sorry, Rachel. I never meant for you to be the victim of my bullying, but you were just an easy target. That doesn't excuse my behavior and what a piece of shit I am, but I am so sorry. Rachel, please forgive me." Quinn confessed, burying herself into Rachel's side.

Rachel wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl and quietly hushed her. "I forgave you along time ago Quinn." The blonde looked up at her, her nose running which almost made Rachel giggle, but she contained herself. "I don't blame you. You yourself were caught up in something I suppose you didn't understand at the time. I wanted to be so angry at you." Rachel admitted, but Quinn listened to her with rapt attention although her heart was hurting. "I thought I hated you. I use to dream of hurting you as much as you had hurt me. But I couldn't no matter what. I don't know if I'm a masochistic, insane girl who loves it when you hurt me, but I don't hate you. I never have and I never could."

Quinn's cries started again as she clung to Rachel's dressed muttering "Thank you" over and over. Rachel smiled as tears streamed down her own face. She wiped at her eyes and laughed despite the tense moment. "Quinn, please accept my offer of friendship. I can't bear the thought of you hurting as much as you are now and me not knowing about it. Let me be your friend, your confidant. Anything you want me to be." Rachel added, slightly blushing at the last part.

The blonde straightened herself out, her face flickering with so many emotions that Rachel thought that someone else had taken Quinn's place. "I-I'd like that, Rachel," Quinn paused. "But what about my reputation? I need to be on top. I know what it's like to be on the bottom, and I don't want that again. Besides, I need you to get out of this town. I couldn't live with myself if you were the reason that you were held back in Lima."

"Quinn slow down. We don't have to act like friends at school, but texting and outside of school, I'm all yours. What's this me staying in Lima business?" Rachel questioned.

Quinn sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're so much better than the losers here, better than me. You have to get out of here. No one wants it as much as you do and no one deserves it like you do. I don't want you to stay here and get tied down with a husband and three kids, slaving away with a desk job."

Rachel laughed which caused Quinn to frown. "For one Quinn, I'm gay. Though I have expressed interest in men before, I am not attracted to them anymore. So, I'd have a wife and three kids, which I in fact want, but I will be on Broadway one day. I can wait for my dreams, and why would I be stuck here? Even if in the slightest chance that I don't make it to Broadway, I'm still going to go to New York and make something of myself." Rachel got that faraway look in her eyes which Quinn had to admit that she loved. A platonic love, of course.

"So you're saying that I don't have anything to worry about anymore?" Quinn asked.

Rachel nodded and smiled at Quinn. "Of course, Quinn. Not about me. I'm happy that you've been protecting me, even in a weird, somewhat twisted, way."

"Yeah..sorry." Quinn grinned sheepishly and nudged Rachel with her elbow. "So what now?"

Rachel scooted closer to Quinn. "Whatever you want. Though, I do hope you seriously consider my offer. I'd rather be making you smile than worry with a frown." She chuckled somewhat awkwardly.

Quinn laid her head on Rachel's shoulder. "I'd like that." She closed her eyes while Rachel held her breath.

_Oh my God. She's got her head on my shoulder_, Rachel thought to herself. In a matter of minutes, Quinn had fallen asleep. Rachel texted Santana to help her carry Quinn to her car, but their search resulted fruitless. "Her mom dropped her off." Santana answered Rachel's mental question. "You wanna take her home?" Santana winked and Rachel's face flushed a bright pink.

"Shut it, San. Help her into the backseat of my car. Text her mom and tell her she's sleeping over at my place." Rachel said, irritation fighting through her veins. They made sure they had everything and got into Rachel's car. They stopped at Santana's for an extra set of clothes, some small Ziploc bags of vegan pizza because Maribel insisted, and then they stopped at Rachel's house. Santana frowned, trying to remember something, and when she did, she dropped Quinn onto the couch in the living room, startling the blonde.

"Where are your dads, Rachel?" Santana questioned the diva. Quinn looked around frantically.

"Where the hell am I, Santana?" Quinn yelled.

Rachel put her hand to her hands. "We took you to my house because I didn't want your mom to drive at midnight to come get you and my dads won't be back for a few months, probably not until we go to Regionals." Rachel sighed.

Santana clenched her jaw. "Why didn't you tell me? You lied to me."

"We weren't friends then and I didn't want you to freak out. Besides, I can handle myself. My dads send me money from Seattle every weekend for living expenses." Rachel explained. "Quinn, I have some extra clothes up in my room that may fit you. Santana, can you please lead her the way?" Rachel asked.

Santana nodded after seeing Rachel's exhausted expression. She quietly led Quinn up the stairs and led her to Rachel's room. She opened it and followed Quinn inside. Quinn's face broke out into a smile and blushed whenever she caught Santana staring at her curiously. "Um, where are the clothes that Rachel mentioned?"

Santana shrugged. "Dunno. Check her dresser. She keeps pjs in there and such." Santana replied, sitting on Rachel's bed. Quinn opened a drawer and her whole face turned pink. "Oh, that's her underwear drawer, Quinn."

"Yeah, I've got that." Quinn squeaked and immediately closed the drawer. She looked in others and picked out a baby blue matching two piece outfit. She took off her dress and quickly put on the pajamas. Figures that Rachel would have a fucking cuddly-ass sheep on a pair of pjs. The cheerleaders walked downstairs and found a sleeping Rachel on the couch who had put on a movie and heated up some pizza for the girls. Santana laid on one side of Rachel and Quinn on the other. Though Quinn felt out of place, she felt much better when Rachel decided to cuddle up to her. Santana laid a blanket on all three of the girls and laid her head on Rachel.

"Don't hurt her, Quinn." Santana threatened lowly.

Quinn smiled at Santana's protective nature. "I won't. Not again."

**A/N: Fucking long ass chapter man.**


	8. Chapter 8: First Sign of the Apocalypse

Chapter 8: First Sign of the Apocalypse

**A/N: Thanks for the follows, favourites, and reviews. I think I got the response I was looking for and yes Santana and Rachel have been getting a little bit **_**friendlier**_** but know that there's a reason and it helps Rachel get further with Quinn. Or Quinn with Rachel, however you like to see it. I have a reason for any particular way one character acts synonymously with another, and that includes Santana's relationship with Quinn. They haven't had many interactions with each other, so that's why I've chosen Rachel's house as a main "first" confrontation. As for the pat on the wrist for Santana, don't make assumptions. I can't fit much in a 20-page chapter believe it or not. Santana's karma will come back. Rachel just hasn't had much bad to balance out the good. As for Quinn, I believe that Rachel sees her as the figurehead much like a president or such, and she puts most of the blame and torment on her whereas Quinn had never done it herself. I'm glad you guys like the story. I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Almost always unedited and unbeta-ed so enjoy!**

Rachel struggled to open her eyes, but she opened them anyways. She looked to her left then to her right. Both girls were awake and Rachel was snuggled up beside Quinn. Santana looked like she had been pouting and griping so Rachel switched sides. Then, it was Quinn who was huffing. Rachel decided to be Switzerland and leave both girls. "I'm going to make breakfast for you guys." Rachel smiled.

"I heard that you almost burned your house down with your cooking." Quinn pursed her lips with an arched eyebrow.

Rachel stopped her movement and turned to her, her smile gone. "I, well, my cooking is unique and sometimes accidents do happen, but-"

"Calm down, Rachel, I was kidding." Quinn laughed and Rachel face flushed pink, excusing herself to the kitchen.

Santana looked over at Quinn, catching her gaze. "Maybe I need to give you the rundown on this whole situation, but you and me. We're done. No longer friends until you can prove to me that you're on Rachel's side."

Quinn scoffed. "Me? I know you're definitely on Rachel's side. When is your wedding date, huh?" Quinn retorted.

"I'm not interested in Rachel that way." Santana dismissed.

Quinn laughed. "No? You were basically dry humping her last night, been following her around like a lovesick puppy, and you've spent more time with her than Brittany! Tell me that you don't love her." Quinn accused.

"I do love her. That's why I do all of those things. But not in that kind of way. Brittany's the only one for me." Santana sighed and Quinn urged her to keep talking. "I feel guilty. It weighs me down and helping Rachel and making sure Rachel knows that her friend is always around helps me, and I know that sounds selfish, but I can just take one look at her and it kills me. I never knew how great she was and look how much pain I've put her through! I've just reached the point to where I can hug her without her fucking flinching!" Santana sobbed as cries shook through her body.

Quinn rubbed Santana's back soothingly. "So you don't like her like that?"

"No, I fucking don't. Whenever I get around her, I don't know what to say because I always feel that way. She keeps saying that she forgives me, but how can she forgive me when I can't even forgive myself? At first, I'll admit that the more I hung out with her, I developed a little crush, but that ended as soon as she said she was in love with y-" Santana paused. "Your everyday fucking Spider-man, but I can't hang around her without feeling like I'm a goddamn wild, mangy person who fucked her life up."

Quinn nodded her head in sympathy. "I feel bad about that too. If you didn't deliver the blows, then I made someone else do it. If she forgave you, then that's that. Rachel forgave me last night, so I'm actually relieved and-"

"Wait, she forgave _you_? Oh come on, you were so much worse than me! What'd you do to make her forgive you so easily?" Santana sneered.

The blonde cheerleader furrowed her eyebrows. "What exactly is that suppose to mean?"

"You're the one that's bullied her the most!" Santana spat. "I'm not exactly a saint either, but it's not like I had a choice. You would order those snob bitches to take whatever you had against Tiny out on the poor girl if you just wanted to or you were bored."

Quinn's eyes started to water and a faint vein on her neck rooted down to the base of her neck making an appearance. "You know that's not true!" She argued.

Rachel slowly entered the room and looked at both of the fuming girls cautiously. "Perhaps it would be best to continue this conversation with me being present and also because I don't want either of you breaking anything." Rachel reasoned, eyeing Santana's hand that grew dangerously close to an antique glass vase. "Come, breakfast is ready." She quietly returned to the kitchen, causing both of the girls to sag their shoulders in remorse.

Three plates were placed at the island counter as Santana and Quinn mounted the bar stools. "Bacon? I thought you were a vegan, Rachel?" Quinn curiously noted and Rachel stopped her movements at Quinn calling her by her actually name before returning to her kitchen duties.

"I am, but Daddy isn't." Rachel mused. "He has a few treats around here for himself. Dad is a vegetarian since he enjoys milk and cheese and the such very much." The diva brought over two coffee mugs, and started to load both of the cheerleaders' plates with sausage, bacon, eggs, and biscuits.

Quinn and Santana both tried to hold their smiles at bay, but they both ended up breaking into grins. "What are you going to eat then, Tiny?"

Rachel smiled brightly and shrugged. "I might just some vegan pancakes. Admittedly, I've had regular pancakes before and they don't taste nearly as good as each other, but I still enjoy them."

Quinn dug into her food as Santana followed in suit, but became distracted. "So...how much did you hear in there?" Santana winced as she asked.

"Not much. Everything, really." Rachel replied nonchalantly. "It's quite rude to talk about me while I'm making _you both_ breakfast." Both Quinn and Santana started to open their mouths, but Rachel raised her hand. "I'm not finished. While I have forgiven you both for your transgressions as it is in my nature, but however, I am still highly anxious whenever I see you both. Everyday I wake up thinking that Santana will resort back to her old ways. I worry about you both. I want to be you guys' friend, but I'm very afraid." Rachel ended, wringing her hands.

Santana frowned. "You know I won't do that. I actually kind of like you, Berry." Quinn scoffed to herself. "Okay, what the fuck is your problem, Q? Do you want me to go all Lima Heights on you?" Santana yelled.

As the two bickered, Rachel smiled in despite of the tense moment. She was about to mention that Santana lived nowhere near Lima Heights Adjacent, but thought it wasn't her place. "Guys, stop. Fighting will get us nowhere."

"But she started it!" Quinn pouted.

"Bitch I will slap the shit out of you!"

Rachel shook her head. "Children, stop fighting! I will not tolerate violence in my home and I will kick you both out if this continues." Rachel shouted, stomping her foot for dramatic effect.

Both Quinn and Santana looked to each other and started to throw a laughing fit. Rachel folded her arms across her arms and huffed. "Stop laughing at me!" She pouted.

Santana wiped under her eye to dry a tear. "I-I just. My god, Rachel." Santana tried to speak but it was replaced with a new air of laughs. Quinn didn't even attempt and continued to giggle. Rachel blushed and tried to not smile at how cute Quinn looked in this moment. Her budding...friendship with Quinn would never last if Quinn ever found out that Rachel liked her. Rachel growled to herself. She would have to give Santana a piece of her mind later after Quinn leaves. She almost told about Quinn Rachel's puppy love for her.

"Are you both done laughing at me?" Rachel huffed after a few moments later.

Santana snickered. "It's not our fault that you're like a little Chihuahua."

"All bark, no bite." Quinn added and did her best to contain another bout of giggling.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I hate you both." She gave her best wounded puppy look, something she learned from Finn in the duration of their relationship.

"Wow, you couldn't look more like Frankenteen if you tried." Santana quipped. Rachel reached over and flicked the raven-haired girl on her forehead. "Fuck! Why'd you do that?"

"You're not paying attention. Don't think you're off the hook either, missy." She scolded Quinn when she looked over to see her laughing at Santana.

Quinn stuck out her bottom lip in the most adorable way possible and Rachel sighed, folding like a goddamn patio chair.

"How come she gets off that easily?" Santana whined.

Quinn smirked. "It's just the effect I have on people, Sanny. Maybe if you'd been spending more time with me, you'd pick up a few pointers." 

Santana rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Rachel. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm trying to rebuild your trust. Give me more time and I'll show you." Santana begged, and Santana Lopez never begs.

"Of course. I believe in second chances, even for you." Rachel smirked.

"Watch it, Berry." Santana countered.

XXX

Quinn had remain quiet throughout the rest of breakfast which earned curious glances from both Rachel and Santana. Santana looked between her and Rachel, then finally stood. "So, uh, can I take a shower?" Santana asked.

Rachel nodded. "I believe I have some clothes that might fit you in the second drawer."

"I have my own, remember?" Santana chuckled, smirking at Quinn who's face flushed with embarrassment. "Quinn might need some though."

Quinn clenched her jaw, fixated on Santana's mischievousness in her eyes. "Shouldn't you go take a shower?" Quinn spat through gritted teeth.

"See you guys in a bit." Santana grinned and did a small wave to Rachel. Santana held Quinn's gaze for a moment and then hurried upstairs.

Rachel turned to Quinn with confusion masked onto her face. "What was that about?"

"What?" Quinn asked, playing dumb.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, placing her hands on her hips. "That weird moment with Santana. I thought you were more perceptive." Rachel tsked.

Quinn smiled in amusement and finished eating. "Are you sure you're just going to eat an apple?"

"Maybe. I'm really hungry, but nothing looks appetizing." Rachel confessed.

The blonde smiled. "Do you have some paper and a pencil somewhere?"

"Yeah in the desk down the hall. Why?" Rachel asked. 

Quinn walked down the hallway and wrote in perfect handwriting, "_Be right back, Satan- Q & R"_

"Are we just going to leave Santana by herself?" Rachel questioned, a little timid at the thought of the Latina staying at her house unsupervised. She wanted to take up the chance of going on a "date" with Quinn, but she knew that Santana was typically nosy and most likely would raid through her belongings. However, Rachel wouldn't mind because she naturally open and honest, but even she had certain aspects of herself that she wanted to keep to herself, at least for now.

Quinn waved her hand in front of Rachel's face. "Earth to Rachel?" Quinn smiled.

"Oh, yes. Sorry, Quinn." Rachel ducked her head sheepishly and smiled back at Quinn.

"It's alright. Do you have anything to wear? Not that I don't like these pajamas, but I don't I want to be seen with a lamb on my chest." Quinn joked.

Rachel laughed. "Sure. There should be some extra clothes in my closet. I'm not sure if they'll fit you, what with the height difference and such, but hopefully you'll find something agreeable."

Quinn nodded her thanks and left the room, traveling upstairs. She was met with the sight of a naked Santana holding a towel in one hand and a small pile of clothes in the other. "God, put some clothes on!"

Santana smirked. "See something you like, huh?" Santana's crack was short-lived when Quinn decided to throw the nearest object at her. Thankfully for Santana, and not so satisfying for Quinn, it was a pillow. "Ay! The hell?" Santana growled and stormed off into the bathroom. The corners of Quinn's mouth perked up into an acceptable smirk. She looked through Rachel's dresser, blushing when she remembered yesterday's events. Needless to say, Santana had been acting weird around Quinn. She knew that Santana knew something that she didn't, and it bothered her. She always had to know what was going on, otherwise she couldn't truly control everything. She likes to be in control.

Quinn finally settled on a pair of blue jeans, surprised that Rachel even owned any, and a forest green long-sleeved v-neck. She hurriedly changed and fixed her hair, then walked downstairs. Rachel was still in her pajamas. It came as a shock to Quinn that she found Rachel's current attire cute and endearing rather than annoying and ugly. "Quinn? Hello?" A voice seeped in sweetness pulled her out of her mind-ogling.

"Oh, sorry. Lost in thought." Quinn smiled sheepishly.

Rachel beamed and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Right, well, I suppose that I should go get dressed."

"Yeah." Quinn replied, a smile still gracing her lips.

There was a small moment between the two girls, but shyly exchanging glances and secret grins. Of course, it was ruined by one smirking, still naked Latina.

"It smells like repressed lemon in here." Santana eyed Quinn before looking at the narrowed eyes that were surprisingly owned by a short brunette.

A short sigh came from the blonde as she walked into the kitchen. Rachel ran upstairs and glared at Santana. "Why, out of any other time, you chose to speak up when we were having a moment." Rachel harshly whispered.

"Hey, it's not exactly my fault. I thought it would be funny." Santana pouted.

Rachel threw her hand over Santana's mouth. "Shush! You're being so loud. Now, Quinn's going to take me somewhere, I don't know where. Perhaps somewhere for breakfast, but we'll be back soon. Don't go through my stuff. You may watch some movies from my collection down in the basement, but don't go through the liquor cabinet again. I saw you sneak down there in around midnight when you thought Quinn and I were sleeping." Santana's eyes widened a little and her mouth began moving like she was about to say something, but Rachel kept her hand clamped onto Santana's lips. "I'm not finished. I expect it to be returned by Monday. So you have today and tomorrow to come up with your own means of transporting and returning the alcohol you consumed. Now, I'm going to go get dressed and I recommend that you shower because I don't want to see you naked anymore, okay?" Rachel took in a deep breath after that long rant. She removed her hand from Santana's face and was met with a genuine small smile.

Santana hugged Rachel, causing the latter to blush as red as a rose. "Okay, Tiny." Santana stepped away from Rachel and walked down the hallway into the bathroom. Rachel quickly went through her room, looking for an outfit that would look good for Quinn. Even if Rachel knew that her love was unrequited didn't mean that she didn't want to impress the object of her affections. She threw on a slight off-white large sweater, black leggings, and a pair of black converses, fresh out of the box. She never really had the chance to wear them, but this seemed as good of a time as any other. She combed out her hair and curled it. A knock on her door rang just as she finished styling her hair and putting on a black toboggan. She grabbed her purse and pulled it over her shoulder, turning the door knob in her hand.

Quinn's frustrated expression dropped into a dopy one, rivaling Finn's. Her eyes roamed every inch of Rachel and her lips fell from each other, a small, inaudible, guttural gasp emitting from the back of her throat. Her face heated up as she shook away _inappropriate_ thoughts of Rachel away. "Y-you ready?" Quinn asked, biting her lip down to refrain from making a bigger fool of herself more than she always was.

Rachel smiled and nodded. They walked downstairs side by side. Well, until the second to last step. Rachel's foot hit the corner of that particular step and to call her graceful in that moment would've been a big fat lie.

In a swift motion, Quinn turned and pulled the falling Diva from serious injury. As serious as a could've been bruise and perhaps a couple of scratches could be. "Woah, are you okay Rach?"

A swish of brown hair tickled her jaw for a split second before brown doe eyes widened at her. "What did you just call me?" The voice came out shakily.

"Rach? Am I not suppose to call you that?" Quinn's eyebrows scrunched together, her face adopting a confused, yet cute visage.

Rachel shook her head and plastered a smile on her face. _Dream Quinn is going to get me in trouble with Reality Quinn_, Rachel thought to herself.

"That pout looks adorable on you." Quinn laughed and pulled Rachel along with her. They walked outside and Quinn looked around. "I had forgotten that you guys kind of kidnapped me last night, so you'll have to drive us."

Rachel huffed. "It wasn't exactly a kidnapping..." She started and faltered when it was, in fact, sort of kidnapping. She climbed into her car and a shooting pain nulled in her head. "Shit."

Quinn smirked slightly. "A swear from Rachel Barbra Berry? Must be the first sign of the apocalypse."

"Shut up, Fabray. God, I shouldn't have drank so much." Rachel groaned and laid her head on the steering wheel.

A delicate hand began massaging the knots out of her back. She glanced over at Quinn who had a sympathetic smile. "What's the address?"

"129 Bakefield Street." Quinn grinned and buckled herself in.

Rachel nodded and checked her phone first. _Twelv_e_ missed calls from Dad. _She mentally cursed herself and threw her phone back into her purse, pulling out of the garage, and then drives down the road.

**A/N: Sorry for the extremely long delay. This is more of a filler chapter. Another one coming either tomorrow or Friday. **

**Next: **"Can you explain to us why we've received calls from Mrs. Robinson from across the street about a Hispanic girl dancing with two bottles of tequila out on the lawn of our house?" Leroy's voice bellowed out into the speaker of the phone.

**(I don't know why it didn't upload correctly the first time. This is the second time I'll be posting it, so hopefully it'll work.)**


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